Entered LB.1.97
Dr Christopher Wrens letter to the Lord Brounker President of the Royal Society About Experiments for his Majesty's Reception
My lord
The Act and Noise of Oxford being over I retired to myselfe as speedily as I could to obey your Lordship and contribute something to the Collection of Experiments designed by the Society for his Majesty's reception. I concluded on something, I thought most sutable to such an occasion, but the stupidity of our Artists here makes the Apparatus so tedious that I foresee, I shall not be able to bring it to anything ere I am necessitated to take a journey, which I am unavoidably tyed to. What in the meane while to suggest to your Lordship I cannot guesse: the solemnity of the occasion and my sollicitude for the Honor of the Society make me think nothing proper, nothing remarkable enough. It is not every yeare will produce such a master Experiment as the Torricellean, and so fruitfull as that is of New Experiments, and therefore the Society hath deservedly spent much time upon it, and its offspring: and if you have any notable Experiment, that may appeare to open new light into principles of Philosophy, nothing would better become the pretensions of the Society, though possibly such would be too jejune for this purpose, in which there ought to be something of pompe: on the other side, to produce knacks only and things to rayse wonder, such as Kercher, Scotby and even Juglers abount with, will scarce become the gravity of the occasion. It must therefore be something between both, Luciferous in Philosophy, and yet whose use and advantage is obvious without a Lecture, and besides it may surprise with some unexpected effect, and be commensurable for the ingenuity of the contrivance. Halfe a dozen of Experiments thus qualified will be abundantly enough for an houres Entertainment, and I cannot believe, the Society can want them, if they look back in their own store. For myselfe I must professe freely, I have not anything by me, sutable to the idea I have of what ought to be performed upon this occasion. Geometricall problems, and new lines, new methods (how usefull soever) will be but tastelesse in a transient shew. New Theories or Observations, or Astronomicall Instruments (either for Observation or facilitation of the Calculus) are valuable to such Artists only, who have particularly experimented the defects, that those things pretend to supply. Sciographicall knacks (of which 100 varieties may yet be given) are so easy in the Invention, that now they are cheape. Scenographicall, Catopticall and Diopticall Tricks require excellent painting, as well as Geometricall Truth in the profile, or else they deceive not. Designs of Engines for ease of labour, or promoting any thing in Agriculture, or the Mechanick Trades, I have occasionally thought upon divers, but they are not intelligible without letters and references, and often not without something of Demonstration. Designes in Architecture are only considerable, as they are appropriated to some work in hand, or else they are a kind of Criticismes and search into Antiquity. In Navigation twill be presumption to proffer at anything,