In like manner, "to be at an}' one's feet" is used for being at the service of'any one, following him, or willingly receiving his instructions (Judg. iv, 10). The last passage, in which Paul is described as being brought up " at the feet of Gamaliel," will appear still clearer if we understand that, as the Jewish writers
FOOT
GU
FOOTMAN"
allege, pupils actuall}' did sit on the floor before, and therefore ;it tlie feet of, the doctors of the law, who themselves were raised on an elevated seat. See Dis- ciple.
"Lameness of feet'' generallj' denotes affliction or calamity, as in Psa. xxxv, 15; xxxviii, 18; Jer. xx, 10; Micahiv, C, 7; Zech. iii, 9. See Lamk.
"To set one's foot" in a place signifies to take pos- session of it, as in Dout. i, EG ; xi, 34, and elsewhere.
" To water with the feet" (Deut. xi, 10) implies that the soil was watered with as much ease as a garden, in which the small channels for irrigation may be tamed, etc., with the foot. Sec Garden.
An elegant phrase, borrowed from the feet, occurs in Gal. ii, 11, where Paul saj's, " When I saw that they walked not uprighth^" uvk ouSroTroooi'ai, literall}^, " not with a straight foot," or " did not foot it straightly."
Nakedness of feet expressed mourning (Ezek. xxiv, 17). This must mean appearing abroad witli naked feet, for there is reason to think that the Jews never usedtiieir sandals or shoes within doors. The modern Orientals consider it disrespectful to enter a room with- out, taking off the outer covering of their feet. It is with tliem e([uivalent to uncovering the head among Eu- ropeans. The practice of feet-washing implie? a similar usage among the Hebrews. See Ablution ; Wash- ing. Uncovering the feet was also a mark of adora- tion. Moses put off his sandals to approach tlie burning bush where the presence of God was manifested (Exod. iii, 5). Among the modern Orientals it would be re- garded as the iieight of profanation to enter a place of worship with covered feet. The Egyptian priests of- ficiated barefoot ; and most commentators are of opin- ion that the Aaronite priests served with bare feet in the tabernacle, as, according to all the Jewish writers, tlie}' afterwards did in the Temple, and as the frequent ■washings of their feet enjoined by the law seem to im- ply. See Sandals.
The passage, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, that publisheth peace" (Isa. Iii, 7), appears to signify that, although the feet of messengers and travellers are usu- ally rendered disagreeable bj' the soil and dust of the way, yet the feet of these blessed messengers seemed, notwithstanding, even beautiful, on account of tlie glad tidings which they bore (see Wemj'ss, Symbol. Diet. s. v.). — Kitto, s. V.
Foot, Joseph Ives, D.D., a Presbyterian minis- ter, and president of Washington College, Tenn., was born at A\'atertown, Conn., Nov. 17, 1796, and gradua- ted at Union College in 1821. Having passed througli the usual theological course at Andover, he was li- censed in 1824, and ordained as an evangelist, when lie went to South Carolina, and labored successfully for some months. Returning to New Eiigland, he preached for some time at Boston, and at a later pe- riod was called to the Congregational church at West Urooklield, Mass. From this charge he obtained a dismission in 1831 on account of ill health, and in 1833 accepted a call from Salina, N. Y., where he continued for two years, and then accepted a call to Cortlandt. Here he opposed with much ability the system of per- fectionism then prevalent, on which he wrote an aliie article in the TJlerary and Theolor/ical Eeview (1834). In 1837 ho removed to Westport, Conn., and while there he joined the Presbyterian Church, with which ho remained connected during his life. In 1839 he accepted a cull to the Presbyterian church of Knox- ville, Tenn. He was connected with the Presbyte- ries of Bedford and Geneva, and with the Old-school Church, and while at Knoxville was elected to the presidency of Washington College. He was on his way to be inaugurated as president of the college when lie was killed by a fall froirrhis horse, April 20, 18-iO. He publislied The prominent Tndt in Teachers of false Religion (1828) -.—A historical Discourse (1828) -.—Ser-
mons on Intemperance (1828) : — Three Sermons on Per, fectionism (1834). A Memoir, with a selection from his ?,IS. sermons, was published by his brother (1841, 8vo). — Sprague, Annals, iv, GG9.
Foot, Kissing of the Pope's. The kissing of the feet of rulers was an Oriental mode of testifying reverence or sulijection. It was also done in the W^est to some, at least, of the Roman emperors : Dioclesian is said to have had gems fastened to his shoe?, that the honor of kissing his feet might be more willingly paid. It was introduced as a sign of reverence for the pope, of Home at some date not precisely known. In de- fence of this practice, the Koman writers adduce an early usage of the sort in favor of all bishops ; but it was kissing of the hand, not of the foot, that seems to have been the usage (Bingham, Orig. Eccles. bk. ii, ch, ix). The first example of an emperor kissing the pope's foot is that of Justin with the foot of pope John I, A.D. 525. It is now practised (1) after the election of a new pope, when all the cardinals kiss his foot ; (2) on the election of a new cardinal, when he kisses the pope's foot, formally, in sign of homage and submis- sion ; (3) at public audiences of the pope, Avhen per- sons presented kiss his foot. Protestants are not re- quired to perform this homage when presented. A crucifix is fastened to the slipper, that the act of ado- ration maj' be interpreted as paid to Christ in the per- son of his so-called vicar.