The phrase "an eye for an eye", (Hebrew: עין תחת עין‎) is a quotation from Exodus 21:23–27 that expresses a principle of retributive justice also known as lex talionis (Latin for "law of retaliation"). The basis of this form of law is the principle of proportionate punishment, often expressed under the motto "Let the punishment fit the crime", which particularly applies to mirror punishments (which may or may not be proportional). At the root of the non-biblical form of this principle is the belief that one of the purposes of the law is to provide equitable retaliation for an offended party. It defined and restricted the extent of retaliation. This early belief is reflected in the Code of Hammurabi and in the laws of the Old Testament (e.g., Ex 21:23–25, Lv 24:18–20, Dt 19:21). An eye for an eye is a quotation from Exodus 21:23–27, expressing a principle of retributive justice. ... Talion is an episode of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... This article is about the second book in the Torah. ... Retributive justice maintains that proportionate punishment is a morally acceptable response to crime, regardless of whether the punishment causes any tangible benefits. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Lex talionis. ... Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer. ... An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ... This article is about the second book in the Torah. ... For the Christian metal band, see Leviticus (band). ... Deuteronomy (IPA pronunciation: ) is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ...

In reference to torts, the Old Testament prescription "an eye for an eye, etc." has often been interpreted, notably in Judaism, to mean equivalent monetary compensation, even to the exclusion of mirror punishment.

Definition and methods

The term lex talionis does not always and only refer to literal eye-for-an-eye codes of justice (see rather mirror punishment) but applies to the broader class of legal systems that specify formulaic penalties for specific crimes, which are thought to be fitting in their severity. Some propose that this was at least in part intended to prevent excessive punishment at the hands of either an avenging private party or the state. The most common expression of lex talionis is "an eye for an eye", but other interpretations have been given as well. Legal codes following the principle of lex talionis have one thing in common: prescribed 'fitting' counter punishment for an offense. In the famous legal code written by Hammurabi, the principle of exact reciprocity is very clearly used. For example, if a person caused the death of another person's child, that person's child would be put to death. Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer. ... For the computer game, see Hamurabi. ...

Under the right conditions, such as the ability for all actors to participate in an iterative fashion, the "eye for an eye" punishment system has a mathematical basis in the Tit for tat game theory strategy. Tit for Tat is a highly-effective strategy in game theory for the iterated prisoners dilemma. ...

The simplest example is the "eye for an eye" principle. In that case, the rule was that punishment must be exactly equal to the crime. Conversely, the twelve tables of Rome merely prescribed particular penalties for particular crimes. The Anglo-Saxon legal code substituted payment of wergild for direct retribution: a particular person's life had a fixed value, derived from his social position; any homicide was compensated by paying the appropriate wergild, regardless of intent. ( There was no distinction between accidental manslaughter and deliberate murder. Under the British Common Law, successful plaintiffs were entitled to repayment equal to their loss (in monetary terms). In the modern tort law system, this has been extended to translate non-economic losses into money as well. Weregild (Alternative spellings: wergild, wergeld, weregeld, etc. ... Not to be confused with torte, an iced cake. ...

A curious result of the tort system is that after a person is acquitted of a crime, a civil trial may find them responsible. A civil trial requires a much lower burden of proof (probability or likelihood as deemed by jurors or judge rather than certainty). This does not count as double jeopardy under the Bill of Rights. One's in jeopardy of "life and limb" in a criminal case; in a civil case, only one's money or property is in jeopardy. For other uses, see Double jeopardy (disambiguation). ... A bill of rights is a list or summary of rights that are considered important and essential by a group of people. ...

Antecedents

Various ideas regarding the origins of lex talionis exist, but a common one is that it developed as early civilizations grew and a less well-established system for retribution of wrongs, feuds and vendettas, threatened the social fabric. Despite having been replaced with newer modes of legal theory, lex talionis systems served a critical purpose in the development of social systems — the establishment of a body whose purpose was to enact the retaliation and ensure that this was the only punishment. This body was the state in one of its earliest forms. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A feud is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. ...

The principle is found in Babylonian Law, see Code of Hammurabi. It is surmised that in societies not bound by the rule of law, if a person was hurt, then the injured person (or their relative) would take vengeful retribution on the person who caused the injury. The retribution might be much worse than the crime, perhaps even death. Babylonian law put a limit on such actions, restricting the retribution to be no worse than the crime, as long as victim and offender occupied the same status in society, while punishments were less proportional with disputes between social strata: like blasphemy or laesa maiestatis (against a god, viz., monarch, even today in certain societies), crimes against one's social better were systematically punished as worse. The material for the study of Babylonian law is singularly extensive. ... An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi. ... For other uses, see Revenge (disambiguation). ... For the black metal band, see Blasphemy (band). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Biblical traditions

Lex talionis in Judaism

The Torah's first mention of the phrase "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot" appears. The Torah () is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of G-d (the vocal is never spelled), traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. ...

The Oral Law explains, based upon the biblical verses, that the Bible mandates a sophisticated five-part monetary form of compensation, consisting of payment for "Damages, Pain, Medical Expenses, Incapacitation, and Mental Anguish" — which underlies many modern legal codes. Some rabbinic literature explains, moreover, that the expression, "An eye for an eye, etc." suggests that the perpetrator deserves to lose his own eye, but that biblical law treats him leniently. − Paraphrased from the Union of Orthodox Congregations^[1] The Orthodox Union or Union of Orthodox Congregations is a Jewish organization that primarily serves the North American Jewish community. ...

However, the Torah also discusses a form of direct reciprocal justice, where the phrase "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot . for a foot" makes another appearance (Dt 19:16–21). Here, the Torah discusses false witnesses who conspire to testify against another person. The Torah requires the court to "do to him as he had conspired to do to his brother" (Dt 19:19). Assuming the fulfillment of certain technical criteria (such as the sentencing of the accused whose punishment was not yet executed), wherever it is possible to punish the conspirators with the exact same punishment through which they had planned to harm their fellow, the court carries out this direct reciprocal justice (including when the punishment constitutes the death penalty). Otherwise, the offenders receive lashes (Makot 1:1; ibid., Bab. Talmud 2a based on critical exegesis of Dt 25:1–3). Deuteronomy (IPA pronunciation: ) is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... Deuteronomy (IPA pronunciation: ) is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... Nezikin (Hebrew: סדר נזיקין, The Order of Damages) is the fourth order of Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). ... Exegesis (from the Greek to lead out) involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a holy scripture, such as of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Quran, etc. ... Deuteronomy (IPA pronunciation: ) is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ...

Since there is no form of punishment in the Torah that calls for the maiming of an offender, there is no case where a conspiratorial false witness could possibly be punished by the court injuring to his eye, tooth, hand, or foot. (There is one case where the Torah states "…and you shall cut off her hand…" Dt 25:11–12. The sages of the Talmud understood the literal meaning of this verse as referring to a case where the woman is attacking a man in potentially lethal manner. This verse teaches that, although one must intervene to save the victim, one may not kill a lethal attacker if it is possible to neutralize that attacker through non-lethal injury {Sifrei; Maimonides' Yad, Nezikin, Hil. Rotze'ach u'Sh'mirat Nefesh 1:7}. Regardless, there is no verse that even appears to mandate injury to the eye, tooth, or foot.) Thus, it is impossible to read "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" literally in the context of a conspiratorial witness. Deuteronomy (IPA pronunciation: ) is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... Sifre (סִפְרֵי siphrÄ“y, Sifre, Sifrei, also, Sifre debe Rab or Sifre Rabbah) refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar (Numbers) and Devarim (Deuteronomy). ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ...

Numbers 35:9–30 discusses the only form of remotely reciprocal justice not carried out directly by the court, where, under very limited circumstances, someone found guilty of negligent manslaughter may be killed by a relative of the deceased who takes on the role of "redeemer of blood". In such cases, the court requires the guilty party to flee to a designated city of refuge. While the guilty party is there, the "redeemer of blood" may not kill him. If, however, the guilty party illegally forgoes his exile, the "redeemer of blood", as an accessory of the court, may kill the guilty party. Nevertheless, the provision of the "redeemer of blood" does not serve as true reciprocal justice, because the redeemer only acts to penalize a negligent killer who forgoes his exile. Furthermore, intentional killing does not parallel negligent killing and thus cannot serve directly as a reciprocal punishment for manslaughter, but as a penalty for escaping punishment (Makot 7a–13a). (According to traditional Jewish Law, application of these laws requires the presence and maintenance of the biblically designated cities of refuge, as well as a conviction in an eligible court of 23 judges as delineated by the Torah and Talmud. The latter condition is also applicable for any capital punishment. These circumstances have not existed for approximately 2,000 years.) The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ...

Objective of reciprocal justice in Judaism

The Talmud discusses the concept of justice as measure-for-measure retribution (middah k'neged middah) in the context of divinely implemented justice. Regarding reciprocal justice by court, however, the Torah states that punishments serve to remove dangerous elements from society ("…and you shall eliminate the evil from your midst," Deut. 19:19) and to deter potential criminals from violating the law ("And the rest shall hear and be daunted, and they shall no longer commit anything like this wicked deed in your midst", Dt 19:20). Additionally, reciprocal justice in tort cases serves to compensate the victim (see above). Deuteronomy (IPA pronunciation: ) is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... Deuteronomy (IPA pronunciation: ) is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ...

The ideal of vengeance for the sake of assuaging the distress of the victim plays no role in the Torah's conception of court justice, as victims are cautioned against even hating or bearing a grudge against those who have harmed them. The Torah makes no distinction between whether the potential object of hatred or a grudge has been brought to justice, and all people are taught to love their fellow (Lv 19:17–18). For the Christian metal band, see Leviticus (band). ...

Lex talionis in Christianity

Christian interpretation of the biblical passage has been heavily influenced by the quotation from Leviticus (19:18 above) in Jesus of Nazareth's Sermon on the Mount. In the Expounding of the Law (part of the Sermon on the Mount), Jesus urges his followers to turn the other cheek when confronted by violence: For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The Sermon... The Expounding of the Law (KJV:Matthew 5:17-48), sometimes called the Antithesis of the Law, is a less well known but highly structured (Ye have heard . ... Turn the other cheek is a famous phrase taken from the Sermon on the Mount in the Christian New Testament. ...

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:38–39, NRSV) The Gospel of Matthew is one of the four Gospels of the New Testament. ... Categories: Stub | 1989 books | Bible versions and translations ...

The passage continues with the importance of showing forgiveness to enemies and those who harm you. This saying of Jesus is frequently interpreted as criticism of the Old Testament teaching, and often taken as implying that "an eye for an eye" encourages excessive vengeance rather than an attempting to limit it. For other uses, see Forgiveness (disambiguation). ... Antinomianism (from the Greek αντι, against + νομος, law), or lawlessness (in the Greek Bible: ανομια, which is unlawful), in theology, is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ...

It was one of the points of 'fulfillment or destruction' of the Hebrew law which the Church father St. Augustine already discussed in his Contra Faustum, Book XIX.^[2] The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... “Augustinus” redirects here. ... Augustinus redirects here. ...

Most Christian scholars and commentators have agreed that such an interpretation is a misunderstanding of this section of Matthew. The "Expounding of the Law" includes a series of six sayings in similar format, known as the " antitheses". In each of them Jesus quotes the provisions of the Jewish Law without criticism — indeed, the passage is prefaced by a ringing endorsement of the Law as whole. However he then calls on his followers to go further than the Law demands, in order to "Be perfect". It seems clear Jesus was not criticising the law, but calling on his followers not only to refrain from the abuses the Law condemns, but to go to the opposite extreme by exercising forgiveness and love — even when one has a just claim to vengeance. Antithesis (Greek for setting opposite, from against + position) means a direct contrast or exact opposition to something. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ...

Lex talionis in Islam

Main article: Qisas

In Islam the Quran permits exact and equivalent retribution. The Quran, however, softens the law of an eye for an eye by urging mankind to accept less compensation than that inflicted upon him or her, or to forgive altogether. In other words, Islam does not deny man his or her God given right as a human being to seek retaliation in the equal measure. But it does, however promote forgiveness and the acceptance of blood money not as a mandatory requisite, but rather as a good deed that will be eventually rewarded.(Quran:Surah 5, Verse 45) This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ...

Alternatives

Some alternative penalty systems exist which primarily concern the impact of the punishment on the sanctioned offender and/or on society, while demanding non-parallel penalties.

For example the "correctional" prison system (first instituted in the USA in the early 20th century) is based on the idea that the purpose of law enforcement is to correct the deviant nature of criminals by compelling them to reflect and regret their crimes during a lengthy incarceration; another alternative, the reformatory, was invented to "reform", i.e. reeducate, young offenders etcetera. A reformatory is a juvenile prison where legal minors are sent by (juvenile or general) courts to spend a custodial sentence, separate from the bad example of and abuse by adult (often hardened) convicts, usually gender-separated (mainly boys). ...

Criticism

The vengeance-based non-biblical forms of Lex Talionis have been criticized; its critics maintain that merely limiting vengeance is not enough as even limited retaliation continues a potentially endless cycle of violence. Mahatma Gandhi remarked: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and the whole world would soon be blind and toothless." “Gandhi” redirects here. ...

Even though it may be hard to do in practice, certain belief systems (such as Christianity) teach individuals to forgive those who wrong them, rather than seek retribution for a wrong. Other belief systems adhere to similar concepts, such as the Taoist wu wei which encourages a wronged individual to simply accept the infraction and to take the least "resistive" action to correct it, if any action need to be taken at all. Buddhism stresses the weight of karma: one can take retributive action, but that retributive action is not without its consequences, and living on a finite planet guarantees that the suffering incurred by a retributive action will return to the individual who was wronged (as well as the one who did the wrong-doing). Some subscribe to the Golden Rule of ethics rather than any law of retaliation.^{[citation needed]} Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... For other uses, see Forgiveness (disambiguation). ... Taoism (Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical and religious traditions and concepts. ... Wu wei (trad. ... Image:Buddhasunset crop. ... For other uses, see Karma (disambiguation). ... The ethic of reciprocity or The Golden Rule is a fundamental moral principle which simply means It is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights. ... For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ...

It can also be seen as an extension of the informal logical fallacy, two wrongs make a right. Look up fallacy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Two wrongs make a right is a logical fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that if one wrong is committed, another wrong will cancel it out. ...

References in popular culture

• Mahatma Gandhi used the phrase "An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world is blind", in reference to his Satyagraha philosophy of nonviolent resistance.
• Martin Luther King Jr. used this phrase (probably inspired by Gandhi) by changing it to "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind", to show what violence between races cause.
• An Eye for an Eye is a novella in the Noughts & Crosses series by Malorie Blackman, written for World Book Day 2003.
• The Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Bad Moon Rising", after recounting the narrator's parade of horribles, says, "one eye is taken for an eye".
• Charlie Daniels's song "Simple Man" includes the line, "Well, the Good Book says it, so I know it's the Truth: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."
• Harold Bishop, a devoutly Christian character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, used the expression "an eye for an eye" when confronting tyrannical manager Paul Robinson.
• For more motion pictures and TV productions, see IMDb references
• The Bruce Springsteen song "Empty Sky" has lyrics "an eye for an eye."
• The self-titled Soulfly album features a song called "eye for an eye."
• The Bright Eyes song named "Let's Not Shit Ourselves (To Love and be Loved)" contains the lyrics: "we'll take eye for an eye/until no one can see/and we will stumble blindly forward/repeating history"
• Villanova University's athletic fight song includes the line, "It's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."
• G-Unit feature a song called "Eye For Eye" on their Beg for Mercy Album
• The Audioslave song, Wide Awake, contains the line "were it an eye for an eye"
• The Temptations 1969 song "Ball of Confusion" has the line, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth vote for me and I'll set you free."
• In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Panic in the Sky", Flash mentions that Grammy Flash always used to say that "the trouble with an eye for an eye is that everyone ends up blind."
• The bands Soulfly and UNKLE have (different) songs titled "Eye for an Eye".
• "Eye for an Eye" is a hit movie starring Sally Field who kills the man (played by Kiefer Sutherland) who rapes and murders her daughter.
• In the game World of Warcraft, "Eye for an Eye" is a name of a Paladin (World of Warcraft) talent in the Retribution tree
• On the May 17, 2007 edition of TNA iMPACT!, James Mitchell mentions lex talionis, but mistakenly translates it as "the law of the jungle."
• The Greece based black metal band Rotting Christ has a song called 'Lex Talionis' from their 2002 album Genesis.
• The Daemonarch project has a song called 'Lex Talionis'
• The British progressive blackened death metal band Akercocke has a song called 'Lex Talionis' pm their 2005 album Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone.

“Gandhi” redirects here. ... Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi, who developed Satyagraha Satyagraha (Sanskrit: सत्याग्रह satyāgraha) is a philosophy and practice of nonviolent resistance developed by Mohandas K. Gandhi. ... The term Indian philosophy may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical thought, including: Hindu philosophy Buddhist philosophy Jain philosophy Sikh philosophy Carvaka atheist philosophy Lokayata materialist philosophy Tantric religious philosophy Bhakti religious philosophy Sufi religious philosophy Ahmadi religious philosophy Political and military philosophy such as that of Chanakya... Nonviolent resistance (or nonviolent action) is the practice of applying power to achieve socio-political goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. ... Martin Luther King, Jr. ... “Knife Edge” redirects here. ... Malorie Blackman (born February 1962) is an award-winning British author of literature and television drama for children and young adults. ... World Book Day 2006 logo in the UK and Ireland World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Day) is a yearly event on 23 April, organised by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Creedence Clearwater Revival (commonly referred to by its initials CCR or simply as Creedence) was an American rock band, which consisted of John Fogerty (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano), Tom Fogerty (guitar, vocals, piano), Stu Cook (bass guitar, vocals), and Doug Clifford (drums, percussion, vocals). ... Bad Moon Rising is a 1969 song by Creedence Clearwater Revival. ... A parade of horribles is both a literal parade and a rhetorical device. ... Harold Wayne Bishop is a fictional character in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours,and is played by Ian Smith. ... This article is about an Australian soap opera. ... Paul Robinson is a fictional character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Stefan Dennis. ... Springsteen redirects here. ... Soulfly is a heavy metal band started by Max Cavalera in 1997 after his decision to leave Sepultura. ... Bright Eyes is a band consisting of singer-songwriter/guitarist Conor Oberst, multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, Nate Walcott, and a rotating lineup of collaborators drawn primarily from Omahas indie music scene. ... Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. ... G-Unit is a rap group which consists of 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, Young Buck, (The) Game, R & B singer Olivia and, most recently, Spider Loc. ... For the bands self-titled album, see Audioslave (album). ... Wide Awake is a 1998 film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. ... “Temptations” redirects here. ... Justice League Unlimited (or JLU) was the name of an American animated television series that was produced by and aired on Cartoon Network. ... Wally West is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics Universe, the first Kid Flash and the third Flash. ... Soulfly is a heavy metal band started by Max Cavalera in 1997 after his decision to leave Sepultura. ... For other uses, see Uncle. ... World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the fourth game in the Warcraft series, excluding expansion packs and the cancelled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans. ... Human Male Paladin as seen in the World of Warcraft. ... This article is about the television program. ... Rotting Christ is an Athens, Greece-based black metal band formed in 1987. ... Daemonarch was a side project band constitued by 4 of the 5 then-members of the Portuguese gothic metal band Moonspell. ... Akercocke is a British progressive blackened death metal band. ...

See also

• Revenge
• Forgiveness
• Turn the other cheek
• Code of Hammurabi
• Retributive justice
• Proportionality (law)
• Quid pro quo

For other uses, see Revenge (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Forgiveness (disambiguation). ... Turn the other cheek is a famous phrase taken from the Sermon on the Mount in the Christian New Testament. ... An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi. ... Retributive justice maintains that proportionate punishment is a morally acceptable response to crime, regardless of whether the punishment causes any tangible benefits. ... Within law, the principle of proportionality is used to describe the idea that the punishment of a certain crime should be in proportion to the severity of the crime itself. ... Quid pro quo (Latin for something for something [1]) indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. ...

Notes

Sources and external links

• Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations explanation of the Torah and Lex Talonis
• Calvin's Commentary on Exodus 21:22–26
• Calvin's Commentary on Matthew 5:38
• Aquinas' collation of commentaries on Matthew 5:38–42
• Tolstoy's Legacy for Mankind: A Manifesto for Nonviolence, Part 1 & Part 2
• The fine art of revenge: Salon interview with Professor William Ian Miller, author of "Eye for an Eye", about the Lex talionis.
• Shubow, Justin. Blind Justice: a review of William Ian Miller's Eye for an Eye. First Things, December 2006.