Both Uses of

recoil
in
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.†
Chpt 8 *

recoil = to move backward suddenly

Definition:

to move backward suddenly (sometimes figuratively)

especially:

the backward jerk of a gun or cannon when it is fired
when a person flinches (suddenly draws back) from someone or something, as with fear, disgust, or pain
when a person is emotionally repulsed, as by disgust
when something intended to go in one direction figuratively falls back in the opposite direction; for example, a story told to hurt someone that comes back to hurt the teller