FAS 
The folemnity of general Fasts, accompanied with 
humiliation and prayer, is found among the earliell rites 
and ufages of the chofen people of God, upon all occa¬ 
sions of great adverfity or affliction. Hence the primitive 
fathers of the Chriftian church, in propagating tiie gOtpel 
difpenfation, retained this wholefome feature of felt-de¬ 
nial , of mortification, and of patience, under the perfe- 
cuting hand of the enemies of God and his church, or 
during the fcourge of peflilence, or of cruel and relentlefs 
war, too often fet on foot for the purpofes of aggrandize¬ 
ment and ambition. It is a very honourable teftimony ot 
the morals of the prefent age, that the lame pious relig- 
nation to the will of divine Providence—the fame humi¬ 
liation and acknowledgement of our manifold offences, 
Hill characterize the do'Ctrines of the Chriltian church ; 
and are, on all momentous occalions, recognized and en¬ 
forced by the canons of the proteftant religion.—It is 
from this truly devout and righteous principle, that days 
of folemn fall and humiliation, of prayer and earned foli- 
citation, for the protection of Almighty God againft the 
malice of a public and inveterate enemy, are, at due and 
proper feafons, appointed to be obferved by all Chriftian 
people throughout our united kingdom.—See Absti¬ 
nence, vol. i. p. 33 ; and the article Lent. 
FAST-DAY, J'. A faft ; a day of mortification by re¬ 
ligious abftinence. 
FAST, adj. [paepT, Sax.] Firm; immoveable.—He 
by his (Length fetteth faf the mountains. Pfal. lxy. 6.— 
Strong; impregnable. — Kngland, by report of the chro¬ 
nicles, was infelted with robbers and outlaw's; which, 
lurking in woods and faf places, ufed often to break forth 
to rob and fpoil. SpcnJ'er. —Fixed; adhering; not fepara- 
ble.—A man in a boat, who tugs at a rope that’s faf to 
a fliip, looks as if he refolved to draw the (hip to him. 
Temple. —Deep ; found.—I have feen her rife from her 
bed, take paper, fold it, feal it, and again return to her 
bed : yet all this while in a molt faf deep. Shakefpeare. — 
Firm in adherence.—Quick wits be in defire new-fangled ; 
in purpofe unconftant ; light to promife any thing, ready 
to forget every thing, both benefit and injury; and there¬ 
by neither fajl to friend, nor'fearful to foe. AJ'cham. — 
[From JJiJl,Wz\(h, quick.] Speedy ; quick; fwift. It may 
be doubted whether this fenfe be not always adverbial.— 
This work goeth fajl on, and profpereth. Ezra, v. 8. 
Skill comes fo flow, and life fo faf doth fly, 
We learn fo little, and forget fo much. Davies. 
Fast andloofe. Uncertain; variable; inconltant; deceitful: 
If fhe perceived by his outward cheer, 
That any would his love by talk bewray, 
Sometimes fhe heard him, fometimes ftopt her ear, 
And played faf and loofc the Live-long day. Fairfax. 
FAST, adv. Firmly ; immoveably : 
This love of theirs myfelf have often feen, 
Haply when they have judg’d me faf afleep. Shakefpeare. 
Clofely; nearly. In this fenfe it is united with fome 
other word, as by, or befde : 
Let purling it reams, be in her fancy feen. 
And flow’ry meads, and vales of cheerful green ; 
And in the midft of deathlefs groves 
Soft lighing wifhes lie, 
And fmiling hopes faf by. 
And juft beyond ’em ever-laughing loves. Dry den. 
Here o’er the martyr-king the marble weeps, 
And J'af befde him once-fear’d Edward fleeps. Pope. 
Swiftly ; nimbly.—I would give a thousand pound I could 
run as faf as thou can’ll. Shakejpeare. 
The heavieft tnufe the fwifteft cotirfe has gone, 
As clocks run fafef when molt lead is on. Pope. 
Frequently.—Being tried only with a promife, he gave 
full credit to that promife, and ftill give evidence of his 
fidelity as faf as occafions were offered. Hammond. 
Vol. VII. No. 425. 
FAS £CQ 
“Fast bind, fast find.”—This proverb teaches, that 
people being fometimes perfidious, it is a great point ot 
prudence to be upon our guard againft treachery and ini- 
pofitions, in all our dealings and tranfaftions, either in 
buying, felling, borrowing, or lending, in order to preferve 
a good underftanding, and a Lifting friendfhip, amongft 
all our connexions. It alfo points to the wifdom and uti¬ 
lity of keeping all things under lock and key, that are in 
any fhape expofed to the dangers of vvafte, or of being 
purloined. 
To FASTEN, v. a. To make faft; to make firm; to 
fix immoveably.—Mofes reared up the Tabernacle; and 
fafened his fockets. Exodus. 
By chance a fliip was faf add to the Ihore, 
Which from old Clulium king Olinius bore. Dryden. 
To hold together; to cement; to link : 
She had all magnetic force alone, 
To draw and fafen lundred parts in one. Donne. 
To affix ; to conjoin.—The words Whig and Tory have 
been pfeffed to the lervice of many fuccellions of parties, 
with very different ideas fafened to them. Swft. — fo 
ftainp ; to imprefs; to fix : 
Thinking, by this face, 
To fafen in our thoughts that they have courage ; 
But ’tis not fo. Shakefpeare. 
To unite infeparably.—Their opprefiors have changed 
the feene, and combated the opinions in their true ihape, 
upon which they could not fo well fafen their difguife. 
Decay of Piety. —To lay on with ftrength.—Could he fafen 
a blow, or make a thruft, when not luffered to approach > 
Dryden. 
To FAS'TEN, v.n. To fix himfelf.—This paucity of 
blood may be obferved in other forts of lizards, in frogs, 
and other fillies; and therefore an horfe.le.ech will hardly 
jafen upon a fi(h. Broom. —The wrong judgment that 
mifleads ns, and makes the will often fafen on the word 
fide, lies in mifrepoiting upon companions. Locke. 
FAS'TENER, f. One that makes fait or firm. 
FAS'TENS Een, or Even, f. [vaycel-abenS>, Low 
Sax.] Slirove-Tuefday, the fucceeding day being Alh- 
Wednefday, the firft of the Lenten fait. 
FAS'TER, f. He who abftains from food. 
FAS'TERMANS, or Fasting-men, [homines kabentes, 
Lat.] A term ufed in our ancient Englilh cuftoms for 
men in repute and fubftance ; or for pledges, fureties, or 
bondlmen, who, according to the Saxon polity, were faf 
bound to anfwer for each others peaceable behaviour. 
FASTII AN D'ED, adj. Avaricious; clofehanded ; clofe- 
fifted ; covelous.—The king being faf handed, and loth to 
part with a fecond dowry, prevailed with the prince to 
be contrafted with the princefs Catharine. Bacon. 
FAS'TI,/. in Roman antiquity, the kalendar, wherein 
were exprefled the fevera! days of the year, with their 
feafts, games, and other ceremonies. Of thefe there were 
two kinds, the greater, and the lefs; tiie former being 
diftinguiftied by the appellation fafi magif rales ; the lat¬ 
ter by that of fafi kalendarcs. The fafi kalendares were 
the ephemerides, or diaries, diftinguifliing. the feveral 
kinds of days , fejli, profejli ; fafi, nefafi , &c. The fir ft 
author was Nuiiia, who committed the care and direction 
of tiie fafti to the pontifex rriaximus, whom the people 
ufed to cor.fult on every occafion. This cuftom held till 
the year of Rome 450, when C. Flavius, fecretary to the 
pontifices, expofed in the forum a. lift of all the days 
whereon it was lawful to work ; which was fo acceptable 
to the people, that they made him curule aedile.— In tiie 
fafi magijlralcs, were expreffed the feveral feafts, with 
every thing relative to the duties of religion, and the au¬ 
thority of the emperors, their birth-days, and the feafts 
and ceremonies eftablithed in their- name, or for their 
profperity, &c. From this was formed the plan of our 
prefent almanac. 
FASTI- 
