Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Book ·98 of 348
"God is dead."
They never said that.
What people say
"God is dead."
What was actually said
"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him." The madman — The Gay Science §125 (1882)
Why it stuck
Nietzsche's three-sentence passage is inseparable — the second and third clauses turn the line from assertion into accusation and grief. The bumper-sticker version is celebration or nihilism, depending on who is quoting it.
The passage is spoken by a lantern-carrying madman, not the author.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.