Nietzsche's Circles

Nietzsche believed that madness is the natural state associated with the destinies of brilliant men, and the status of madness cannot be diminished by its being a common pathological condition. He attributed the origin of this confusion to a mistaken conclusion about the phenomenon of emotion. For they observed that emotion often results in mental clarity and happy suggestions, and they believed that through it they could reach the happiest perceptions and noblest ideas. Thus, the madman was deemed wise. Madness is what paved the way for new opinions that broke the dominance of customs and superstitious beliefs, and then nothing remained for superior men but to become so, or to feign madness.