It is only in regard to concretes or particulars, implementing a mutually
accepted basic principle, that one may compromise. For instance, one may
bargain with a buyer over the price one wants to receive for one’s product, and
agree on a sum somewhere between one’s demand and his offer. The mutually
accepted basic principle, in such case, is the principle of trade, namely: that
the buyer must pay the seller for his product. But if one wanted to be paid and
the alleged buyer wanted to obtain one’s product for nothing, no compromise,
agreement or discussion would be possible, only the total surrender of one or
the other.
There can be no compromise between a property owner and a burglar; offering the
burglar a single teaspoon of one’s silverware would not be a compromise, but a
total surrender—the recognition of his right to one’s property.