lex talionis

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If the lex talionis, in the same spirit of impartial jocularity, could be applied as efficaciously to all "practical jokers," civilised Society might soon be rid of one of its most intolerable pests.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105, August 19th 1893 by Various

It was an antiquated system which sought to inflict punishment for every mortal thing—it was the lex talionis of the Old Testament, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

From Growth of the Soil by Hamsun, Knut

The reader will remember how, partly inspired by his affection for Robert Grace, and partly by resentment over a small office, Franklin applied the sharp edge of the lex talionis to Jemmy Read.

From Benjamin Franklin; Self-Revealed, Volume I (of 2) A Biographical and Critical Study Based Mainly on his own Writings by Bruce, Wiliam Cabell

In these cases the lex talionis is the only recognised one.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by MacGillivray, John

"Perhaps she has something to complain of; but if she has any conscience at all, she ought to recognize the lex talionis."

From Guy Livingstone; or, 'Thorough' by Lawrence, George A. (George Alfred)