The "Seatonian Prize" was a contest for one English poem each year on the topic of "the Perfections or Attributes of the Supreme Being" and the prize would be the "Rent of the Northamptonshire estate" It was established by the will of Thomas Seaton, an "Anglican divine and hymn writer". Smart wrote in the "poetical essay" tradition using Miltonic blank verse. In 1750, the poem he won the prize with was "On the Eternity of the Supreme Being". The prize was only worth 17 pounds each year before 7 pounds were deducted for the publication of the poem. However, after the publication of the poem, Smart became a regular contributor in "The Student".