[Theodores]

10x was legit in Babylon, circa 1754 BC, with the oldest written law concerning this:

Ex. Law #265: "If a herdsman, to whose care cattle or sheep have been entrusted, be guilty of fraud and make false returns of the natural increase, or sell them for money, then shall he be convicted and pay the owner ten times the loss.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi

Innocent until proven guilty was also in the Code of Hammurabi, not sure about the 'eye for an eye' bit or the treatment of slaves though. Nonetheless the precedent of 10x is there.

[chucksmash]

The eye for an eye bit was in there[1], but apparently only for men of the same class:

> 196. If a superior man should blind the eye of another superior man, they shall blind his eye.

> 198. If he should blind the eye [...] of a commoner, he shall weigh and deliver 60 shekels of silver.

> 199. If he should blind the eye of a slave of a superior man [...], he shall weigh and deliver one half of the slave's value (in silver).

[1]: From page 106 of "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" which I was just coincidentally reading on the bus and would def recommend.

[Theodores]

Thanks for the tip, I will go for the YouTube talk before investing in the book.

baybal2 - sibling comment - was correct and unfairly modded down. A well known leader referenced the Law of Hammurabi the other day.

Coincidentally I was listening to this press conference whilst procrastinating on HN, to come across this story. New to the Law of Hammurabi, I had to check out the Wikipedia page, to read the 'ten times' bit, enabling me to conveniently cut 'n' paste the above comment.

Despite going to school I had not ever heard of Law of Hammurabi before. I have not read it in depth but just that small bit of knowledge regarding the history of written laws has changed how I see and understand the world.

[baybal2]

I'm surprised that somebody caught that line on a forum like HN :)