Worʹship
means state or condition of worth, hence the term “his worship,” meaning his worthyship. “Thou shalt have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee” (Luke xiv. 10) means “Thou shalt have worth-ship [value or appreciation].” In the marriage service the man says to the woman. “With my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow”—that is, I confer on you my rank and dignities, and endow you with my wealth; the worthship attached to my person I share with you, and the wealth which is mine is thine also.
Never worship the gods unshod. So taught Pythagoras, and he meant in a careless and slovenly manner. (See Imablichus: Protreptics, symbol 3.) The Jews took off their shoes when they entered holy ground (Exodus iii. 5). This custom was observed by the ancient Egyptians. Mahometans and Brahmins enter holy places bare-footed; indeed, in British India, inferiors take off their shoes when they enter the room of a British officer, or the wife of an officer. The idea is that shoes get covered with dust, and holy ground must not be defiled by dirt. (Justin Martyr: Apology, i. 62.)
