Tuori, Kaius 1021545X Volume 13 Issue 2 2007 Sabinet Online 140-145 Nearly every legal history textbook offers us a similar narrative of human development: In the beginning, man acted on his impulses and avenged physically all wrongs done to him. Of course it was difficult, if not impossible, for someone of low status to get his own back on someone rich and powerful. In contrast, enemies of near equal standing would habitually embark on a vendetta, each avenging the harm done to them and assuaging their feelings of anger. Theorists of early warfare saw the vendetta as the starting-point of war and thus the ruin of mankind. http://search.sabinet.co.za/WebZ/Authorize?sessionid=0&bad=http://search.sabinet.co.za/ejour/ejour_badsearch.html&portal=ejournal&next=images/ejour/funda/funda_v13_n2_a9.pdf http://ecom.sabinet.co.za