It is more than simply vengeance according to the
lex talionis; under the law of retribution, after all, justice would be the equality of condition (e.g., two eyes equally blind).
8.00: INEFFABLE (M C Hussey, 10-1) 1;
Lex Talionis (9-2) 2; Spruce Meadows (10-3) 3.
It is a version of the
lex talionis, or law of retribution: if A harms B, B ought to receive a proportionate penalty in return (also known as an "eye for an eye," in its most famous form).
Proportionality - the ancient law of
Lex Talionis, an "eye for an eye" but no more, putting a limit on retribution.
We as viewers also partake in the same type of '
lex talionis' mentality that drives Sixsmith.
Are we returned to the Book of Exodus: An eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot -- the
lex talionis : the law of retaliation?
Like the death sentence, the whole-life tariff is
lex talionis. But its notional or actual symmetry with the crime for which it is visited on the prisoner (the only virtue of the
lex talionis ) is a poor guarantee of proportionate punishment, for the whole-life tariff is arbitrary: it may be measured in days or decades according to how long the prisoner has to live.
First, Genesis 9:5 indicates that God himself is concerned about justice in the social order and is its ultimate enforcer: "For your lifeblood I will require a reckoning." Second, in Genesis 9:6 (italics mine) God commissions human beings themselves to enforce justice in their interrelationships: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed." Finally, Genesis 9:6 communicates the principle that should guide the human pursuit of justice: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed" This is the
lex talionis, or law of retribution.
This
lex talionis was "the code of the West" and the central lesson of Stagecoach (1966), Shane, and The Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957).
Kant's logic of retribution is premised on the
lex talionis, the ancient principle of law that justice is satisfied by a "likeness" between crime and punishment.
The verses of Exodus 21:22-25 are among the most well known in the Torah as they contain the
Lex Talionis [Law of Retaliation]:
They present Talmudic; Rabbinic, and New Testament readings of paganism, Nazarite (the attainment of holiness), keeping the Sabbath, dietary and sexual purity, and
lex talionis (the "eye for an eye" law of retaliation.) T&T Clark is an imprint of Continuum.
