Merry Christmas.

Answer

According to my new old "Shaker Legacy" by Becksvoort the saying was apparently common among the Shakers. Another. "That which in itself has the highest use, possesses the greatest beauty." In spite of the high prices for original Shaker pieces, many of them are much amended. Already made pieces were amended to fit the size and style of the new person performing a task, like sewing. They are added to as in blanket chests, cut down, cloth taped, rushed, even leathered and rockered as in chairs, newly hardwared, painted over, and at least one piece, a cabinet piece was placed upside down in a new location to allow a hinged door to open from the other side. More than a few drawers were nailed together even though most were dovetailed and the famous taper drawer sides have been attributed to old remaindered clapboards. A hundred years before "Form follows function", the Shakers lived the life.