---
name: "Stendhal — \"God's only excuse is that he doesn't exist\""
subtitle: "Quote Investigator nails the 175-year provenance"
date: 2026-05-03
link: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/04/23/god-excuse/
source: "Quote Investigator"
topics: [quotes]
tags: [stendhal, attribution, philosophy]
---

The line is usually credited to Nietzsche or Camus — both of whom actually credited Stendhal in their own work. Garson O'Toole traces it to Marie-Henri Beyle (Stendhal) via his friend Prosper Mérimée's 1850 pamphlet. Nietzsche reportedly said he was envious he hadn't come up with "the best atheist witticism" himself. Worth knowing the next time it shows up misattributed in a tote-bag quote.
