Justice and Revenge

“In the human domain there is a fundamental difference between justice and revenge. Revenge is personal, justice impersonal. Revenge involves taking the law into your own hands. Justice is the opposite. It means handing over your cause to an impartial tribunal to examine the evidence and apply the law. The move from revenge to justice is the most fundamental any society can make. When courts and the legal process take the place of retaliation, it is no longer the Montagues against the Capulets but both under the impartial rule of law. Justice is not revenge. It is the only sane alternative to it.”

Covenant and Conversation: Leviticus, pp. 310-311