I.to poise, weigh several things with one another; hence, in the lang. of business, to equalize one thing with another by weighing, to balance with one another, to make good, compensate, balance against, lit. and trop. (class. in prose and poetry; most freq. in Cic.); constr. aliquid cum aliquā re, aliquā re, or absol.
I. In gen.
(α).
Cum aliquā re: “nonne compensabit cum uno versiculo tot mea volumina laudum suarum,” Cic. Pis. 30, 75: “laetitiam cum doloribus,” id. Fin. 2, 30, 97: “bona cum vitiis,” Hor. S. 1, 3, 70.—
(β).
Aliquā re: “summi labores nostri magnā compensati gloriā,” Cic. de Or. 3, 4, 14; id. Font. 5, 13 (1, 3): “damna ab aliquo aetatis fructu compensata,” Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 13, § 33: o vix ullo otio compensandam hanc rei publicae turpitudinem, id. Att. 7, 18, 2; id. Or. 69, 231: “paucitatem pedum gravitatis suae (sc. spondei) tarditate,” id. ib. 64, 216: “tot amissis te unum,” Ov. H. 3, 51: pecuniam pedibus, to make up for the low price in shoe-leather, Cato ap. Cic. Fl. 29, 72: “facinora ministerio,” Curt. 10, 1, 2: reprehendens aliā laude compenses, * Quint. 11, 1, 87.—
II. In post-Aug. poets, of a way, to shorten, spare, save: “longum iter,” Sen. Hippol. 83 (cf. pensare iter, Luc. 9, 685).—Hence, compensātō , adv., with compensation or reward, Tert. Pall. 2 (al. leg. compensati).
