An eye for an eye
Meaning
The principle that a person who has injured another should be punished in a similar degree, often literally, as a form of retributive justice.
Origin
Deep in the ancient world, before modern justice systems, the principle of 'an eye for an eye' emerged not merely as a call for vengeance, but as a revolutionary step towards limiting it. In cultures where tribal feuds could escalate indefinitely, causing entire families to be wiped out for a single offense, this legal tenet—famously codified in Hammurabi's Babylonian laws around 1754 BC and later in the Hebrew Bible—introduced the radical idea of proportionate justice. It declared that punishment should exactly match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This wasn't about bloodlust, but about preventing excessive retaliation, ensuring that the penalty precisely mirrored the crime and thereby putting a cap on the cycle of violence, drawing a strict line in the sand for what was considered a just recompense.
Examples
- After his car was vandalized, he felt an eye for an eye was the only way to get true satisfaction, vowing to damage the perpetrator's property in return.
- Many argue that an eye for an eye only perpetuates cycles of violence and does not lead to genuine peace or reconciliation.