Fatherhood Quote by Daniel Smith

A politician in the late 18th century praising art for its “truth and excitement” isn’t just offering a pious pep talk; he’s staking out cultural territory. Daniel Smith frames the artist as an emissary, “working for and representing the Kingdom of God,” which quietly elevates creative labor into a form of civic service. Coming from a public figure, that language collapses the line between spiritual authority and social order: art isn’t free play, it’s proof-of-work for the divine.

The intent is managerial as much as devotional. “Should do the best of their ability” reads like a standard of conduct, a Protestant work ethic applied to imagination. The artist is called to “show and prove” - not merely express faith, but demonstrate it with results. That insistence on proof signals an anxiety about art’s slippery power: images, music, and stories can seduce, distract, even destabilize. Smith tries to domesticate that power by yoking it to a higher employer, turning creativity into apologetics.

The most revealing move is the pileup of qualities: “depth, life, newness, creativity, truth and excitement.” This isn’t ascetic suspicion of aesthetics; it’s a bid to claim innovation itself for God. In an era marked by revolutions, new nations, and competing moral visions, “newness” and “excitement” are politically charged words. Smith is arguing that religious art can match the era’s dynamism without surrendering its center. The subtext: if modernity is coming, the faithful should own its style, not just condemn its excesses.