"Nitz" is a word that fell into disuse some ten centuries ago. About the literature in which it was found and in what cases it was used is described in this article.
Archaism
So, prostrate is a part of speech that is not used by our contemporaries. With the exception of some areas, which are discussed below. The word came into Russian speech from the Old Slavonic language. To the adverb that our ancestors used, you can pick up a synonym for "down". In the speech of the inhabitants of Kievan Rus, over time, it began to occur less and less, but forever remained in church vocabulary. And there it acquired a slightly different meaning.
Church Literature
"Nitz" is a word that does not occur by itself in the scriptures. Exclusively in the composition of phrases, for example, with the verb "fall". What does this fixed expression mean? According to one of the explanatory dictionaries, "prostration" is a symbolic action designed to express the highest degree of humility. Believers perform it with fiery prayer. Of course, it is not only the authors of Orthodox literature who use this word. More than once the adverb is found in the "New Testament".
"Nitz" is archaism. Poets and prose writers use obsolete words in their works to give solemnity. Here are some examples.
At Pushkin's
In the story of the great Russian writer about the noble robber, the above-mentioned phrase is also found. Such stable expressions were already somewhat outdated by the beginning of the 19th century. In "Dubrovsky" it is found in the chapter, which describes the arrival of Troekurov's henchmen in the possession of the protagonist. The peasants are deeply devoted to their former master, but when they see his enemy's helpers, they "fall on their faces." Such is the force of habit of the Russian serf. Thus, we see that the adverb "prostrate" is found not only in church literature.
At Lermontov
"Prostrate" - what's that? First of all, an expression of extreme devotion. The phrase is also found in Pushkin's work "Boris Godunov". We also find it in Lermontov. True, another phrase is already present here - "to lie prostrate on the ground." Apparently, the phrase that occurs in the poem "Mtsyri", in the eighth chapter, was used by the author in order to emphasize the special humility of his heroes.
"Prostrate" is "touching the ground". There are equivalents to this dialect in Western European languages, but they are found in the works of authors of the 18th-19th centuries. For example, in the novel "Elixirs of Satan", written by the romantic writer Hoffman. What happened to the hero of this book is what today is commonly called a split personality. From time to time in itas if a demon was possessing, but this state rather unexpectedly gave way to an attack of extreme humility. Then the character went to the temple, where he prostrated himself and began to frantically read a prayer.
The word whose meaning we have considered has a homonym. Namely, Nice is a small settlement located on the territory of Germany.