ABSTRACT
Revenge and retaliation have often been used to motivate punishment. The notions, however, are often confused and retaliation can have different meanings. The Old Testament use of revenge declined, and Christ rejected it completely. In the Christian tradition, therefore, retaliation was largely criticised or condemned. This is apparent from the writings of St Augustine, and it is something deeply rooted in our tradition and culture. Over past centuries there have been various contradictions. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some legal historians praised Germanic law for its truculence. The closer we examine the sources, however, the more we find retaliation being criticised. Retaliation is nearly always mixed up with revenge and severe punishment. Leibniz tried to legitimise retaliation, but this was just his way of asking for a punishment proportionate to the crime. This chapter proves, therefore, that the widespread revulsion for revenge is motivated by Christianity and is deeply rooted in Western culture.
