Rev. Chauncey Giles on the religious and moral implications of craftsmanship, as quoted in Mind and Hand, Charles H. Ham, 1886

The artisan stands between every man, woman, and child and the crude materials embodied in the three kingdoms of Nature, and by the magic of his skill they are transformed into means serviceable for use. The wood in the forest, the marble in the quarry, the clay in the bank, the metal in the mine pass through his hands, take on the form of his thought, become arranged by his intelligence, and the product is the modern dwelling. Is there any fancy in fairy tale more wonderful than this? By the skill of the tanner and the shoe maker the raw skin is transformed into the useful shoe. Do you ever think of your indebtedness to these humble toilers for your protection and comfort? Do they ever think of the service they are rendering you?--a service which cannot be compensated by dollars and cents. The jewels which sparkle in royal crowns and add lustre to queenly beauty, the silks and precious stuffs which clothe and give new charms to the loveliness of women, owe their beauty, their lustre, their value to the artisan. He stands between the worms, the mine, and the wearer, and by the transforming power of his skill and patient labor they become robes of beauty and gems of light. But of far greater importance is the service he is rendering to our common humanity. He takes the material which our Heavenly Father has provided in such abundance, puts his thought, his intelligence, and he has every conceivable motive for putting his love and good-will toward men, into them and passing them on as tokens of his love and fidelity to human good. Everything he touches becomes a message not only of his knowledge and his skill but a fit embodiment of his regard for his fellow men.