20 MEMOIR OF RAT. 



tions, than in the writings of most of his cotempo- 

 raries. His talents and amiable disposition secured 

 him the esteem and friendship of many of the most 

 eminent men then attending the university, parti- 

 cularly the celebrated Isaac Barrow, Dr Tenison, 

 afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, and Dr Arrow- 

 smith, master of Trinity College. When enume- 

 rating the most eminent men to whom he had been 

 tutor, Dr Duport was accustomed to say, that the 

 chief of all his pupils were Mr Ray and Dr Barrow, 

 to whom he esteemed none of the rest comparable. 



Ray prosecuted the regular order of study then 

 prescribed to candidates for holy orders, and when 

 of some standing, was chosen into several offices of 

 the college, having been appointed in succession, 

 Prcelector Primarius, Junior Dean, and College 

 Steward. The latter office he held for two years, 

 and was sworn into it on the last occasion in De- 

 cember 1660. 



During his residence at the university, Mr Ray 

 likewise distinguished himself as an eloquent preach- 

 er ; for it was a common practice at that period to 

 deliver public discourses in the college, previous to 

 ordination. His sermons were much esteemed for 

 sound reasoning, enlightened views of theology, and 

 a judicious application of scriptural principles to the 

 ordinary duties of life ; qualities seldom found in the 

 sermons of the time, which were generally either cha- 

 racterized by a spirit of fanaticism, or filled with the 

 unprofitable disquisitions of scholastic theology. Of 



