WALKING PERVERTEDLY

As we all know, there’s a ton of walking in the Bible.  And Proverbs 10:9 has something very definite to say, although the specifics of what that something is vary considerably depending on the translation.  

Those of us who like language and literature, as well as walking, might be interested in the ways that an apparently very simple thought has been molded by various translators.  I had always assumed the King James would get it spot on, but now I’m not so sure.

King James Bible

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

Look, I reckon I walk “uprightly,” I mean my posture could be better, but whose couldn’t?  And I don’t reckon I’m a man who “perverteth his ways,” certainly not while walking, and surely if you believe in an all-knowing deity, all your ways shall be known anyway, right?

As you see below, various hands have taken a stab at changing the language, insisting on “integrity” while walking though sometimes “safely” or securely” or blamelessly,” which strike me as a bunch of different things, but then also there’s an insistence on rejecting the “crooked path.” 

I mean OK, I know it’s a metaphor and all, but really I do enjoy walking the occasional crooked path, and honestly I don’t think that makes me a pervert.  Others, evidently, take a different view.  Here are some translated variations, a couple of which don't even include the walking aspect all:

New International Version

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

New Living Translation

People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.

English Standard Version

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

New American Standard Bible

He who walks in integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will be found out.

Holman Christian Standard Bible

The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out.

International Standard Version

Whoever walks in integrity lives prudently, but whoever perverts his way of life will be exposed.

NET Bible

The one who conducts himself in integrity will live securely, but the one who behaves perversely will be found out.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English

He that walks in perfection goes in hope, and he who perverts his ways will be known.

GOD'S WORD® Translation

Whoever lives honestly will live securely, but whoever lives dishonestly will be found out.

Jubilee Bible 2000

He that walks in integrity walks securely, but he that perverts his ways shall be broken.

King James 2000 Bible

He that walks uprightly walks securely: but he that perverts his ways shall be known.

American King James Version

He that walks uprightly walks surely: but he that perverts his ways shall be known.

American Standard Version

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely; But he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

Douay-Rheims Bible

He that walketh sincerely, walketh confidently: but he that perverteth his ways, shall be manifest.

Darby Bible Translation

He that walketh in integrity walketh securely; but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

English Revised Version

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

Webster's Bible Translation

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

World English Bible

He who walks blamelessly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

Young's Literal Translation

Whoso is walking in integrity walketh confidently, And whoso is perverting his ways is known.

Language and walking and metaphors; it’s a minefield innit?

RADIO WALKING

And here's a thing, a podcast in which the Hollywood Walker, aka Geoff Nicholson, i.e. me, along with a bunch of other people talk about walking (yet again).

It was made by Marilyn Powell for Canadian Broadcasting, who describe it thus:

Walking Matters, Part 2 - "The Steps We Take"

Ever since our ancestors rose to their feet, our species has been defined by walking upright. But the act involves our minds as well as our bodies. We interpret the act of walking, and give it our stamp - from ramblers to Rousseau, from models and tramps to Buddhist monks. In this two-part series, Marilyn Powell explores the world of walking and what it means to us. 

You can link to it right here.

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2014/03/12/walking-matters-part-1/

Incidentally when I went down the recording studio to be interviewed I found this wonderful sign on the back of a downtown liquor.  It's  the kind of thing that makes walking worthwhile.

I think the word "loutering" is a brilliant and much needed invention.  I shall be using it often from now on.  

DIORAMIC WALKS

Do you know this guy’s work: Sohei Nishino?  I didn’t till recently.  He walks around cities taking photographs.  Well, many do, of course, but after he’s walked his chosen city for a few weeks and shot literally thousands of photographs, he assembles the results into a kind of collage, something he calls a Diorama Map.  So far the cities he’s covered include Rio, New York, Berlin, and London. Thus:

The works are huge, this one is 2300 by 1283 mm.  He says he had a particularly hard time walking in London because of the cold, and says the original idea came about when he went on “Ohenro”, a walking pilgrimage that involved him visiting 88 temples, though he says he walked not so much for spiritual enlightenment as for the sake of the journey, which in itself is a spiritual proposition, of course.  He took photographs as he went, as a way of recording the route.  Then he started taking pictures of cities.

“I try not to think about, or research a city before visiting,” he said in an interview with the website The New Wolf. “I want to capture an impression of each city only when I’m there. What I don’t want is to be prejudiced towards it beforehand, to be forced into thinking from someone else’s point of view.
 Normally, when I get to a city I begin by walking around it, spending time familiarising myself with its size. The way I walk depends on where I am, it’s as if I’m absorbing the energy of each individual city.”

He also says in an interview with Foam, “My passions are walking, meeting people, and discovering myself through the act of walking.”  Naturally he’s also walked and mapped some Japanese cities, including Tokyo, thus:

Tokyo is one of those places I’ve always said I want to visit, and it's true, but I’m daunted by it.  I’ve bought a few maps and guides, including this one, which despite the title is actually a book, an architectural guide to the city. 

Of course I didn’t expect to be able to understand the language but I wondered whether I’d even be able to make any sense of the maps.  The answer, as you see, yes and no:

I’ve thought that one way to tackle Tokyo would be simply to book into some hotel, then in the morning get up and start walking, more or less randomly for a good few hours, and do that every day, and sooner or later I’d start to feel at home.  Or perhaps I wouldn’t.

Obviously I have no idea what the experience would actually be like, but one of my points of reference is the cityscape photography of Nobuyoshi Araki.  Along with his many photographs of women in bondage, his wife, his cat, his toy dinosaurs, he also photographs streets scenes.  I love those chaotic images, all that clutter and unmatching buildings, the alleyways, the hanging cables ...

Clearly he must have done some walking in order to take those pictures, and I just discovered a book of his titled Tokyo Aruki (since his bibliography runs to several hundred volumes it’s easy to miss one), which translates as Tokyo Walks.  I assume there’s some pun in there on Aruki and Araki, but I don’t know if Japanese puns operate the way English ones do.

I just ordered a copy of the book and I’m told it’s on its way, but for now most of what I know about it comes from a website titled japanexposures on which John Sypal writes about it, and reveals that in the back there are maps showing the routes Araki took when photographing, thereby allowing the reader to follow in his footsteps, and take your own version of his pictures if you like.  I can’t decide whether this a fun idea or just very reductive, I suppose it depends on the spirit in which it’s done.

No doubt you could do something similar with Sohei Nishino’s work, though I suppose in his case the map would have to be as big as the dioramas he makes.  Ultimately of course, in the style of Borges and Lewis Carroll, you might have to make a map that was as big as the city itself.

And incidentally I did just find this quotation from Araki: "Photographing a city that is now my own is bothersome.  To be honest, I don't have any interest in any city besides Tokyo."

Here are the websites referred to above:

Foam:  http://foam-magazine.tumblr.com/post/75893218659/sohei-nishino-featured-in-our-latest-talent

The New Wolf:  http://www.thenewwolf.co.uk/2013/02/nishino/

Japanexposures:  http://www.japanexposures.com/2009/07/20/nobuyoshi-araki-tokyo-aruki-tokyo-walks/