ABSTRACT
In the law of like for like, the passional reaction finds its formula. Self and other are once more "even", and the wronged man is satisfied. Resentment in its lower forms is an instinct; but in its higher forms it is simply the egoistic side of the sense of injustice. Resentment tends to equalize men by establishing equal rights. It fortifies the claims of the weak against those of the unscrupulous strong. The system for the control of conduct, while it stimulates sympathy, sociability, and the sense of equity, greatly narrows the sphere of resentment. Personal reaction against violence is found to hamper society in its own reaction. Wrongs become crimes, and the justice of the peace sits in the place of the primitive arbiter-Religion enjoins upon individuals the duty of forgiveness, while society takes up and carries on for them the task of repression.
