Interesting aside...did you know that the Jewish "an eye for an eye" was actually a maximum limit? With the amount of barbarism in the world at that time, most cultures accepted you taking out both eyes of a person if they purposefully took out one of yours. One to make it even and the other as punishment.
The Jews made the punishment equal to the crime with this phrase, where there were not already listed punishments for crimes.
Not sure, but judging by what he said he might have already understood that. Restraint in practicing an eye for an eye could mean he'd like to kill him, which would exceed the crime.