Talionis, Lex
(law of retaliation). This was a Roman law to the effect "That if any one called another man's credit, or fortune, or life, or blood into question in judgment, and could not make out the crime alleged against him, he should suffer the same penalty that he intended to bring upon the other." Although the ecclesiastical law could not inflict the punishment of retaliation for false witness against any man's life, yet such false testimony was early reputed by the Church as the highest species both of calumny and murder, and consequently brought such witnesses under all the ecclesiastical penalties due to those crimes. Bingham, Christ. Antiq. bk. 16:ch. 10:§ 9.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More