 On the other hand, the inhabitants of Beit Shemesh did not possess it, inasmuch as instead of bowing before the Ark they rejoiced and danced before it boldly, so that misfortune came upon them and 50,000 of them fell.The opposite of "derekh eretz" is "to walk in the crooked way," i.e., to do unworthy deeds and to give oneself up to immorality.Yet no nation of the world, with the exception of Ancient Egypt, has sunk so low as this.