AC 8223 - retaliation

AC 8223 [3]
It is a frequent occurrence in the next life
for the evil to be severely punished
when they wish to inflict evil on the good,
and for the evil which they aim at others
to recoil on themselves.
. . . The evil who carry out punishment
act from an inordinate desire to do ill,
whereas the good act from a fondness for doing good.
From all this one may see what should be understood
by the Lord's words in Matthew . . . about loving one's enemy,
and about the law of retaliation,
which the Lord did not set aside
but opened out; that is to say,
He explained that those governed by heavenly love
should take no delight in any act of retaliation or revenge
but in doing good.
His words should also be taken to mean
that the actual law of order
which protects good
achieves this of itself
by means of those who are evil.