Chrysti The Wordsmith: An Eye for an Eye

Greetings word lovers. This is Christy the wordsmith. In a speech delivered on May 3rd in 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said the reason I can't follow the old law of an eye for an eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving everybody blind. King was referring to the oft quoted biblical law a fair judgment given to the nation of Israel through the prophet Moses. The Old Testament book of Exodus traces the movement of the Israel lights out of Egypt the land of their slavery and into a new country that God had reserved for them as the people wandered through the desert. God called Moses to Mount Sinai where the prophet was given the divine laws for governing the Israel lights in their new home. In addition to the Ten Commandments God also dispensed hundreds of other legal codes directing commerce domestic life slavery and agricultural practices. One of the laws stated that if someone caused another serious injury he was to take quote Life for life. Eye for

eye tooth for tooth hand for hand and foot for foot. This Old Testament eye for eye law has been cited for centuries as justification for revenge and retaliation in kind. The ancient expression is now considered a cliche and has been appropriated by many contemporary writers including Truman Capote. Mario Puzo and John Grisham. I'm Christie the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman. CHRISTIE The wordsmith a sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Pseud web dot com.