Quotation:

“Callimaco: Nothing’s ever so completely a lost cause that there can’t be some way to hope for it, even if it’s only weak and empty; the passion and desire a person has to get what he wants keeps it from seeming so.” page 9. 

“Callimaco: I’ve simply got to try something, and I don’t care what it is—huge, dangerous, hurtful, infamous. Better to die than live like this. If I could at least sleep at night, eat, talk to people—if I could find even the slightest pleasure in anything, the strain of waiting might not wear me down so much. But there’s no relief here. If my hopes aren’t kept up by some possibility of action, it will mean the death of me, one way or another; and with death in sight, I’m not going to be afraid of anything else: I’ll try even the most brutal, crude, and vicious thing!” page 13.

Comment: Context for both quotes: Callimaco is venting to Siro about his desire for Donna Lucrezia. He explains all the troubles that come with his desire, such as her husband, but he still can’t help but feel such passion for her. He refuses to believe that lost causes exist and that everything can have hope. He explains that his passion and desire is what keeps his hope going and what keeps him believing that it is not a lost cause. Then he really digs deep into his passion for this girl. It’s quite extraordinary to have such feelings for someone he barely even knows. To want to die to be with her is so extreme, but that is how much passion and desire he has to be with her. Part of me really likes how passionate he is for this girl, but part of me doesn’t. If this were a more modern time, like today perhaps, I think I would like it more. I think this because back then, women were objects… to me he only wants to have sex with her. But i’ve never heard of anybody feeling this much passion about anything ever, so to see it is pretty cool and it excites me, but then I remember that he’s so passionate about being with her sexually. So I have mixed emotions. 

Question: Is it possible to be too passionate about something/someone? How are we supposed to know? How do we determine how far we should be willing to go for such passion?