Hammurabi: The Line Between Revenge And Justice

Revenge usually has a negative connotation, yet it is the very foundation for the law system. Since the very beginning, the idea of human justice has been rooted in revenge. The very first laws created by Hammurabi’s code are based off of revenge, and today’s society still uses revenge as a way of serving justice, blurring the line between revenge and justice. The very first written down laws from Hammurabi’s law code featured vengeance heavily. As the Mesopotamian King of numerous territories, Hammurabi needed a way to keep order during his reign (“Hammurabi's Code: An Eye for an Eye”). He used revenge as a way of punishing aggressors in what he deemed fairly. His famous statement "If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. If one break a man's bone, they shall break his bone” reflects the idea of punishing no more or less than the crime committed (“Hammurabi's Code: An Eye for an Eye”). The idea of punishing transgressions clearly reflects the human conception of necessary revenge. Now, thousands of years later, modern …show more content…
In fact, law professor Thane Rosenbaum says, "The distinction between justice and vengeance is false," and that "A call for justice is always a cry for revenge" (Rosenbaum). In current society, those who break the law are punished with solitary confinement; yet this does nothing to really correct their behavior. It is only a measure taken to punish them; in other words, it is just another a form of revenge. The idea of punishment itself reflects the innate human desire to avenge themselves and right what they perceive to be wrongs (Rosenbaum). Living “in a society where the rule of law is weak, revenge provides a way to keep order” and serves as a consequence of breaking the law (Knutson). Therefore justice and revenge are closely interlinked, both meant to maintain order and punish those who break the law or disrupt