Answer:
—The proverb 'cleanliness is next to godliness' expresses the idea that those who are pure and wholesome are close to God. When the proverb was put forward, in the 17th century, cleanliness (or clenlynesse or cleanlines as it was spelled then) referred to both moral purity and to personal hygiene.
—cleanliness is next to godliness. Being clean is a sign of spiritual purity or goodness, as in Don't forget to wash your ears—cleanliness is next to godliness. This phrase was first recorded in a sermon by John Wesley in 1778, but the idea is ancient, found in Babylonian and Hebrew religious tracts.
