Gay's philosophical works argued that virtue was conforming to a rule of life which promotes the happiness of others. His short "Dissertation Concerning the Fundamental Principle of Virtue or Morality" was first published as a preface to
Edmund Law's translation of
William King's Latin Essay on the Origin of Evil (1731). (Law was
Bishop of Carlisle and King was
Archbishop of Dublin.) The "Dissertation" is one of the seminal works in the history of English
utilitarianism. In the eighteenth century its influence may be found in the works of the theological utilitarians,
Abraham Tucker (
The Light of Nature Pursued, 7 vols., 1768–1778) and
William Paley (
Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy, 1785).
David Hartley said that Gay's assertion of the importance of psychological association in human nature was the origin of his
Observations on Man (1749). In 1730 Gay resigned his fellowship and became
Vicar of Wilshamstead, later adding the
living of
Haynes. He died on 18 July 1745, and was buried at Wilshamstead on 22 July. ==Family==