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47 His precepts were generally sound, and uniformly supported by the weighty sanction of practice. Whatever he conceived to be his duty, that he performed at every hazard. He persuaded, admonished, and threatened, without fear or flattery.

One of the most extraordinary acts of his life, was the attempt he made, in imitation of the Saviour of mankind, to fast for the term of forty days. Perhaps no christian professor, except himself, ever conceived the fast of our Saviour to be intended as an example for mankind. We must not, however, rashly condemn the conduct of Lay. He certainly acted from a sense of duty; and the voluntary penance to which he subjected himself, is at least a proof of resolute self-denial, and of the power of the human system to sustain itself under a deprivation of its accustomed subsistence. He persisted in his fast for three weeks. For several days after he had commenced it, he continued to pursue his common occupations. He rose at his usual time, which was always at the