I.to fasten together, to confine, hold in check, to repress, curb, restrain (mostly poet. or in post-Aug. prose; not in Cic.; the words quoted as from Cic. by Quint. 11, 3, 169: quin compescitis vocem istam? ap. Cic. himself, Rab. Perd. 8, 18, are: quin continetis vocem).
I. Lit.: “ramos fluentes,” i. e. to clip, prune, Verg. G. 2, 370; Col. 5, 6, 11: “spatiantia bracchia,” Ov. M. 14, 630: “ignibus ignes,” id. ib. 2, 313: “incendia,” Plin. Ep. 10, 33 (43), 2: “mare,” Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 16: “luxuriosam vitem fructu,” Col. 4, 21, 2; cf. Plin. 14, 20, 25, § 124: “harundinem,” Col. 4, 32, 5; cf.: coërceo cretam, to tread, stamp, Titin. ap. Non. p. 245, 32: “equum angustis habenis,” Tib. 1, 4, 11: “suos ocellos,” Prop. 1, 16, 31: “seditiosum civem,” Quint. 11, 1, 40; cf. “legiones,” Suet. Calig. 1: “multitudinem,” id. Caes. 16.—
II. Trop., to suppress, repress, restrain, check, etc.: seditionem exercitūs verbo uno, Tac. A. 1, 42: “hostiles motus per legatos,” Suet. Tib. 37: “sitim multā undā,” Ov. M. 4, 102: maledicta hinc aufer; “linguam compescas face,” Plaut. Poen. 5, 2, 75; cf. querellas. * Lucr. 3, 954 Lachm.: “tristitiam,” Ov. M. 9, 396: “clamorem,” Hor. C. 2, 20, 23: “risum,” id. S. 2, 8, 63; and: “vino dolores,” Tib. 1, 2, 1: “animam frenis et catenā,” Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 63: “mentem,” id. C. 1, 16, 22: “scelera,” Quint. 12, 1, 26: “ardorem (together with temperavit vim suam),” Tac. Agr. 8: “mores dissolutos vi,” Phaedr. 1, 2, 12.—
