proverb · Words worth keeping
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying pairs an eye with an eye and a tooth with a tooth. It presents a response to harm in terms of a matching loss.
Example
A discussion asks what a proportionate response means without treating identical injury as a required solution.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The repeated body parts make equivalence the governing image. A critical explanation can examine the idea of proportion without turning the phrase into instructions for retaliation. It does not establish what justice requires in a particular case or verify a legal rule here.
When to use it
Use it to examine a model of matching harm critically.
Keep in mind
No permission for violence, legal advice or required retaliation is established.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown