1 166
2 PRIVATE KEVENOfi.
3 atnin 4be r>><oii>b1e pmaooM'^ in#ridmii, tmd to Ukm tbe nAtem
4 «f wToaipt iadii^ pm&ikmmA of crimei, into Its ofm lmds* M-^fiU
5 ray imperfecdyuiideiatood; or if it it im^entoodf it ■dMpm.pwcnt
6 iotiieilioiiglilt bf difi people. This piwtioe wait hava JwA ittixi*
7 gin at a tinffe idien the|;ovenimeiit afoded no protectioo to indi*
8 viduals, and in inch Girosmstaiices, it must be allowed to be bene-
9 ficial, and eraa necessary ; but it has taken foot in the lulails of the
10 A^aun nation, and aithoagh in moflt paito of their country, jua*
11 tioe mig^ now be obtauied by other means ; and though private re-
12 venge 18 every where preached against by the Moollahs, and forbid-
13 den by the government, yet it is still lawful, and even honourable, in
14 the es of the people to seek that mode of redress. The injured
15 party is considered to be entitlpd to strict retaliation on the aggres-
16 sor: an eye for an eve, a tootli tor a tooth, and so on. If the offender
17 be out of his priwer. lie may wreak his \ t ugeauce on a relation, and
18 in some cases, on any man of the tribe. If no opportunity of exer-
19 cising this right occur, he may defer his revenge for years ; but it is
20 disgraceful to neglect or abandon it entirely, and it is incumbent on
21 his relations, and sometimes on his tribe, to assist him iu his re-
22 taliation.
23 ReteiiaCion thus exercised, of confae 'leada to new digpates ; the
24 tpaacnA beoomel invMerate, and in aerioiis caaea, it ia often tmm^
25 milted fiom fttfaer to aon finr aeveral generatimia. .
26 Hie remote eflbcte of thia ayatem» in cncomaging aawwinarion wifli
27 ■ ita attendant habita of diaaimnlation and cruelty, and in wnwttltng tlie
28 aodety, and aoeuatoming ita members to scenes of tumolt and blood,
29 ne probably not diaoovered by the rude legialatora of A^^ianniatmni
30 bat the alarms and diaoideni wideh It immediately {wodueea, muat be
31 felt by allt and accordingly we find in eveiy trib^ aome meaaorea
32 adopted for repressing ita activity. In a few Oolooaiea, the adjust-
33 ment of disputes is left to mediation and persuasion, to which the
34 chief and elders always lend their weight, but if these means are in-
35 sufficient to prevail on the aggressor to ofier compensation, or the in-
36 jured person to imgiv^ the aociety learea the httter to parane hia
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