Hay, John

In Latin: To John Hay, third son of George, Earl of Kinnoull, priest of the Church of England: although a man of illustrious lineage, outstanding genius and varied learning, he retained his modesty and simplicity. He cultivated virtue, not with ostentatious strictness but with a pleasing and gracious innocence: at the same time, he was seen both to follow his own natural talent and to put calumny to flight by the rare felicity of his manners, which enabled him to win general praise. Having borne with patience the distress of lingering disease, he finally made good his escape, full of Christian faith. It means much to his grieving friends that such great virtues now promote his lone memory: his memory, which will not be unfruitful to you, O reader, should you be seeking a pattern, rather than pleasure, among these tombs. Born in 1719 he spent five years in the College of Westminster, was enrolled as a pupil at Christ Church, Oxford, and, by royal patronage, became rector of Epworth in Lincolnshire. He died in 1751. This stone was placed here, to the best of brothers, by Thomas, Viscount of Dupplin and Robert, Bishop of Asaph. [Translation courtesy of the Westminster Abbey website, amended.]