God is dead.
Genuine
Yes. In Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), Prologue, section 2 (Zarathustra’s Prologue, Zarathustras Vorrede), said by Zarathustra. These are the character’s words, not a statement in Nietzsche’s own voice.
Found word for word by program in the German original and in Thomas Common’s English translation (1909).
The wording people share comes from a later translation; Common’s words are underlined below.
- Work
- Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Also sprach Zarathustra), 1883
- Where
- Prologue, section 2 (Zarathustra’s Prologue, Zarathustras Vorrede)
- Found at
- Paragraph 45 of the German text, 79 of the English
- Translation
- Thomas Common, 1909
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
[…] Let me rather hurry hence lest I take aught away from thee!”—And thus they parted from one another, the old man and Zarathustra2, laughing like schoolboys.
[…] Aber lasst mich schnell davon, dass ich euch Nichts nehme!“—Und so trennten sie sich von einander, der Greis und der Mann, lachend, gleichwie zwei Knaben lachen.
When Zarathustra was alone, however, he said to his heart: “Could it be possible! This old saint in the forest hath not yet heard of it, that GOD IS DEAD!1”
Als Zarathustra aber allein war, sprach er also zu seinem Herzen: „Sollte es denn möglich sein! Dieser alte Heilige hat in seinem Walde noch Nichts davon gehört, dass Gott todt ist!“—
3.
3.
When Zarathustra arrived at the nearest town which adjoineth the forest, he found many people assembled in the market-place; for it had been announced that a rope-dancer would give a performance. […]
Als Zarathustra in die nächste Stadt kam, die an den Wäldern liegt, fand er daselbst viel Volk versammelt auf dem Markte: denn es war verheissen worden, das man einen Seiltänzer sehen solle. […]
The scene
Zarathustra has left his mountain and met an old hermit in the forest, who praises God by singing hymns. They part laughing like schoolboys, and when Zarathustra is alone he says this to himself. It is a private thought, not a proclamation; he then goes on to the town and the market-place.
What it means
The belief in God that the hermit still lives by has lost its life; the hermit has not noticed.
Often misread
Often quoted as a plain atheist slogan or a boast. Here it is a wondering remark by Zarathustra about one old man. The better-known announcement is the madman’s in The Gay Science (section 125, 1882), which is not in the texts held here, and there it is a diagnosis of what Europeans have done, not a celebration.
Topics
Related quotes
- What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal.
- The problem with every story is you tell it after the fact. Chuck Palahniuk
- Sometimes people use thought to not participate in life. Stephen Chbosky
- People don’t know what they want until you show it to them. Steve Jobs
- No one is so old as to think that he may not live a year. Marcus Tullius Cicero
Sources
- en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche (Thus Spoke Zarathustra; checked 28 October 2026)
Cite it
Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), Prologue, section 2 (Zarathustra’s Prologue, Zarathustras Vorrede), translated by Thomas Common (1909). Spoken by Zarathustra. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/god-is-dead/ (31 October 2026).
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Checked by people
People who checked this entry against its source, under their own names. Their checks do not change the verdict: an editor reviews every entry.
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