"All passions exaggerate; and they are passions only because they do exaggerate"

This quote by Nicolas Chamfort speaks with the power of feeling and how it can form our lives. He is suggesting that all enthusiasms, whether they be love, anger, or pleasure, have the potential to be exaggerated. This exaggeration is what makes them so powerful and influential. It is this exaggeration that can cause both favorable and negative outcomes. For example, an overstated enthusiasm for something can lead to terrific success, while an overstated enthusiasm for something can result in great damage. In either case, the power of emotion is indisputable. Chamfort is suggesting that it is this exaggeration that makes enthusiasms so effective and influential. He is also suggesting that it is very important to be familiar with the power of emotion and to be conscious of how it can form our lives.