The high price of vindication

As a lawyer, Lincoln often discouraged people from bringing unnecessary lawsuits.

Once, a man wanted him to bring a suit for $2.50 against a penniless man, and Lincoln could not talk him out of it. So Lincoln took the case, charged the client a retainer of $10.00, won the case, kept $5.00 for himself and gave the other $5.00 to the penniless defendant who promptly paid the $2.50 he owed and kept the rest for himself.

Thus everyone involved won including the angry client who, though he paid dearly for it, felt his revenge vindicated.