--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And, as I watched the Lincoln come by…" description: "\"“And, as I watched the Lincoln come by degrees to a relationship with what it saw, I understood something: the basis of life is not a greed to exist, n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/722/philip-k-dick-502_fear_and-as-i-watched-the-lincoln-come-by-deg_3002006.jpg" --- # And, as I watched the Lincoln come by degrees to a… ![“And, as I watched the Lincoln come by degrees to a relationship with what it saw, I understood something: the basis of life is not a greed to exist, not a desire of any kind. It's fear, the fear which I saw here. And not even fear: much worse. Absolute dread. Paralyzing dread so great as to…” quote by Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/722/philip-k-dick-502_fear_and-as-i-watched-the-lincoln-come-by-deg_3002006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/722/philip-k-dick-502_fear_and-as-i-watched-the-lincoln-come-by-deg_3002006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/722/philip-k-dick-502_fear_and-as-i-watched-the-lincoln-come-by-deg_3002006.jpg) > ““And, as I watched the Lincoln come by degrees to a relationship with what it saw, I understood something: the basis of life is not a greed to exist, not a desire of any kind. It's fear, the fear which I saw here. And not even fear: much worse. Absolute dread. Paralyzing dread so great as to produce apathy.”” [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that the fundamental driver of life is not desire but a profound, paralyzing dread that leads to apathy. **In simple terms:** Life is driven by fear and dread, not desire. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront underlying dread. Themes existentialism psychology apathy fear human condition Mood anxious reflective somber Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health - creative block - spiritual searching Key Concepts nihilism paralysis existential dread Questions to Reflect On - What fears dominate your daily decisions? - How can you transform dread into purposeful action? A Different Perspective The insight may overlook moments of hope or resilience that counteract dread. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“There is nothing worse than fear. Fear is worse than cancer, fear is worse than torture, fear is worse than betrayal and fear is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/there-is-nothing-worse-than-fear-fear-is-worse-than-cancer-fear-is/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Every time I saw Muslim masses bowed in prayer or the Catholic faithful gathered all I saw was fear. Moronically nodding Hasidim, paint-throwing Hindus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/every-time-i-saw-muslim-masses-bowed-in-prayer-or-the-catholic/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Look in his eyes. He has died a thousand times these last moments...You defeated him utterly the moment you saw fear in his eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-long/look-in-his-eyes-he-has-died-a-thousand-times-these-last-moments-you/) Nathan Long > [I saw Fear perform live at a young age, so I guess you could say I draw from that same energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jpegmafia/i-saw-fear-perform-live-at-a-young-age-so-i-guess-you-could-say-i/) [JPEGMAFIA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jpegmafia/) > [“At first only Tamarind had noticed the awkward, disquieting way his expressions changed, as if a puppeteer were pulling wires to move his face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/at-first-only-tamarind-had-noticed-the-awkward-disquieting-way-his/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [I saw how different life was on different sides of the same city. I saw the fear in the eyes of people who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-saw-how-different-life-was-on-different-sides-of-the-same-city-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You're telling me that you can raise the dead by simply summoning?" "Yes." "My God," she whispered, staring at me."What have they done?" Hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/you-re-telling-me-that-you-can-raise-the-dead-by-simply-summoning-yes/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [I still look forward to doing things I've never done before. But the fear beforehand is always worse than the actual moment. Leading up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/i-still-look-forward-to-doing-things-i-ve-never-done-before-but-the/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [“Could it be fear? But what could be worse than living a sad, gray life, in which every day is the same? What could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/could-it-be-fear-but-what-could-be-worse-than-living-a-sad-gray-life/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“It's a rotten world, Miss Millick,' said Mr. Wran, talking at the window. 'Fit for another morbid growth of superstition. It's time the ghosts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/it-s-a-rotten-world-miss-millick-said-mr-wran-talking-at-the-window/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [“For years I'd been trying to forget..., locking it up and burying it deep in my memory. The journey... had shattered that, bringing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-jacka/for-years-i-d-been-trying-to-forget-locking-it-up-and-burying-it-deep/) [Benedict Jacka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-jacka/) > [I still look forward to doing things I've never done before. But the fear beforehand is always worse than the actual moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/i-still-look-forward-to-doing-things-i-ve-never-done-before-but-the-2/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [“Words were sometimes like ammo. They could strike you with fear worse than an arrow. And worse was sometimes knowing ahead a time what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-goodgame/words-were-sometimes-like-ammo-they-could-strike-you-with-fear-worse/) [Cyndi Goodgame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-goodgame/) > [Loneliness, insomnia, and change: the fear of these is even worse than the reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/loneliness-insomnia-and-change-the-fear-of-these-is-even-worse-than/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [I understood about fear. And I knew better than anyone in that room what Mouse was capable of. But still I had been raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-understood-about-fear-and-i-knew-better-than-anyone-in-that-room/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) ## More by Philip K. Dick > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/even-if-all-life-on-our-planet-is-destroyed-there-must-be-other-life/) [Philip K. 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Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“What is identity? he asked himself. Where does the act end? Nobody knows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-is-identity-he-asked-himself-where-does-the-act-end-nobody-knows/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [You're killing yourself with cynicism. Your idols got taken away from you one by one and now you have nothing to give your love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/you-re-killing-yourself-with-cynicism-your-idols-got-taken-away-from/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [What scared me the most was when my father would put on the gasmask. His face would disappear... This was not a human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-scared-me-the-most-was-when-my-father-would-put-on-the-gasmask/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“A man is an angel that has become deranged, Joe Fernwright thought. Once they – all of them – had been genuine angels, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/a-man-is-an-angel-that-has-become-deranged-joe-fernwright-thought/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“When do I see a photograph, when a reflection?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/when-do-i-see-a-photograph-when-a-reflection/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [My major preoccupation is the question, 'What is reality?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/my-major-preoccupation-is-the-question-what-is-reality/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) [Explore all 489 Philip K. Dick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. 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