eat height, and of the different members of the
entablature which rests upon the Corinthian capitals of the greater
pilasters, part had to be cut away. The crowns of the arches take a
great piece out of the architrave, and their keystones reach well
within the plain and narrow frieze. Only the cornice of the first
stage remains intact, and this runs round the four limbs of the church
like a string course in any Romanesque or Gothic building.

=The Triforium Belt.=--This used to be called the "Attic," in
imitation of the Classical nomenclature; but surely this term is
incorrect, since there is a clerestory above, and the vaulting springs
from it as well. On the other hand, "Triforium" pure and simple
implies arcading, and the above term is adopted from Fergusson as less
open to exception.[93] In continuation of the greater pilasters are
abutment piers, from the summits of which spring the great arches
spanning the nave, the window arches of the clerestory, and the
pendentives which connect these with the vaulting. The blank fronts
between the piers are relieved by panels, but otherwise destitute of
adornment. Openings connect the nave with the galleries behind.

=The Clerestory.=--This stage again calls for little or no comment.
The windows, hidden from the exterior by the curtain wall, are
slightly rounded. Above and on either side are sections of spheres,
ornamented with festoons. These are the ends of elliptic cylinders in
connection with the vaulting.

=The Vaulting.=--The great arches overhead divide the vault as the
greater pilasters and their continuations do the walls. Between these
arches are the small saucer-shaped domes, 26 feet in diameter. The
reason for these and their accessories, the pendentives, may best be
understood from Wren's own words. He says that his method of vaulting
is the most geometrical, and "_is composed of Hemispheres, and their
Sections only; and whereas a Sphere may be cut all Manner of Ways, and
that still into Circles ... I have for just Reasons followed this way
in the Vaulting of the Church of St. Paul's.... It is the lightest
Manner, and requires less Butment than the Cross-vaulting, as well
that it is of an agreeable View.... Vaulting by Parts of Hemispheres I
have therefore followed in the Vaultings of St. Paul's, and with good
reason preferred it above any other way used by Architects._"[94] The
saucer-shaped domes are sections of spheres, as are both the
pendentives and the s