I am grateful for Professor Manser's criticisms of my brief remarks on f retribution, and in particular for his concluding challenge (‘ … what J injury, on his account, did Adam and Eve do to God in the Garden of r Eden?’), because they bring out the central point I was trying to make—that ‘Retribution aims at a restoration of balance by compensation’ (p. 523). I interpreted ‘compensation’ widely, to include the disadvantaging (punishment) a person should suffer ‘if somebody breaks the rules of a particular deal’ (ibid.), in order that the proper status of the participants be restored. The injury done by Adam and Eve to God, and their punishment, come under this heading.