--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Look back on Time, with kindly eyes - He…" description: "\"“Look back on Time, with kindly eyes - He doubtless did his best - How softly sinks that trembling sun In Human Nature's West -”\" — Emily Dickinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/emily-dickinson-310_human-nature_look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-do_2376318.jpg" --- # Look back on Time, with kindly eyes - He doubtless did his… ![“Look back on Time, with kindly eyes - He doubtless did his best - How softly sinks that trembling sun In Human Nature's West -” quote by Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/emily-dickinson-310_human-nature_look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-do_2376318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/emily-dickinson-310_human-nature_look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-do_2376318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/emily-dickinson-310_human-nature_look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-do_2376318.jpg) > ““Look back on Time, with kindly eyes - He doubtless did his best - How softly sinks that trembling sun In Human Nature's West -”” [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem reflects on time with gentle nostalgia, acknowledging effort and the fleeting nature of life. **In simple terms:** Reflect kindly on time and effort. Key Takeaway Cherish moments and effort. Themes time nostalgia mortality Mood contemplative melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - historical contemplation - creative writing Key Concepts reflection poetry human experience Questions to Reflect On - What does “trembling sun” symbolize? - How can we honor past efforts? A Different Perspective Poetry may idealize reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [LOOK back on time with kindly eyes, He doubtless did his best; How softly sinks his trembling sun In human nature's west!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-doubtless-did-his-best-how/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The leaves streamed down, trembling in the sun. They were not green, only a few, scattered through the torrent, stood out in single drops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-leaves-streamed-down-trembling-in-the-sun-they-were-not-green/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Time is a kindly God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/time-is-a-kindly-god/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-see-thee-better-in-the-dark-i-do-not-need-a-light-the-love-of-thee/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) Arthur Graham > [Though there may be people in your life that support you and encourage you we have to realize that people are only human, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/though-there-may-be-people-in-your-life-that-support-you-and/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/selfishness-is-one-of-the-principal-fruits-of-the-corruption-of-human/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. 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If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More by Emily Dickinson > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I could not prove the Years had feet-/Yet confident they run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-could-not-prove-the-years-had-feet-yet-confident-they-run/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Could you tell me how to grow--or is it unconveyed--like Melody--or Witchcraft?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/could-you-tell-me-how-to-grow-or-is-it-unconveyed-like-melody-or/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Inebriate of Air — am I — And Debauchee of Dew — Reeling — thro endless summer days — From Inns of Molten Blue —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/inebriate-of-air-am-i-and-debauchee-of-dew-reeling-thro-endless/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/luck-is-not-chance-it-s-toil-fortune-s-expensive-smile-is-earned/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Longing is like a seed that wrestles in the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/longing-is-like-a-seed-that-wrestles-in-the-ground/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“He ate and drank the precious words, His spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, Nor that his frame was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/he-ate-and-drank-the-precious-words-his-spirit-grew-robust-he-knew-no/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. 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Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/selfishness-is-one-of-the-principal-fruits-of-the-corruption-of-human/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [Though there may be people in your life that support you and encourage you we have to realize that people are only human, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/though-there-may-be-people-in-your-life-that-support-you-and/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) Arthur Graham > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. 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Nevertheless (I offer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-mass-of-men-have-been-forced-to-be-gay-about-the-little-things/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) [Browse all 3,743 Human nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Look back on Time, with kindly eyes - He doubtless did his best - How softly sinks that trembling sun In Human Nature's West -”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Dickinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-doubtless-did-his-best-how-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human nature" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-doubtless-did-his-best-how-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/emily-dickinson-310_human-nature_look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-do_2376318.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/emily-dickinson-310_human-nature_look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-do_2376318.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/emily-dickinson-310_human-nature_look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-do_2376318.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Look back on Time, with kindly eyes - He doubtless did his best - How softly sinks that trembling sun In…” — Emily Dickinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Dickinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Look back on Time, with kindly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-doubtless-did-his-best-how-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/look-back-on-time-with-kindly-eyes-he-doubtless-did-his-best-how-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```