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John Addington Symonds: A Biographical Study (Classic Reprint)
John Addington Symonds A Biographical Study - Classic Reprint Author:Van Wyck Brooks JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS Chapter I a boy at clifton JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS was born at Bristol on the 5th of October, 1840. The first eleven years of his life were passed in a gloomy old house, facing a city square, heavily respectable and associated to the end of his days with nightmare terrors and a troop of depressing relations. The general spi... more »rit of these relations seems to be summed up in his grim old grandmother Sykes, in whose house, gloomier even than his father's, he spent many a fearful night. Of this lady and her following we have a fine portrait in the grandson's Autobiography. By nature distant and aristocratic, she had been converted to an evangelical sect and found herself, as a person of substance and quality, the acquiescent prey of a swarm of ill-con-
Table of Contents
CONTENTS; Chapter I; a boy at clifton*; Page 1; Birth of Symonds at Bristol, 5 October, 1840-His grandmother Sykes-Puritan ancestry-His father's character-Relation between father and son-His mother-Lonely childhood-Susceptibility to trances- Clifton Hill House-Early studies in art-The Greek spirit-His suppressed character and morbid reserve-* At Harrow School-Discovers Plato; Chapter II oxford: jowett; Page 28; Symonds enters Balliol College-Jowett*s character-^ Influence of Jowett upon Symonds-Spiritual condition of Oxford-First meeting with Jowett-Professor Con-ington-JEsthetic studies-Poor health-Jenny Lind- Wins the Newdigate Prize-Tours on the Continent- His early style-111 effects of his Oxford training- Lewes's Life of Goethe-L!'Amour de I'lmpossible- Comparison of Symonds with Amiel; 33; CONTENTS; Chapter III youth: wanderings; Page 52; State of mind on leaving college-Study of Venetian painting-Confusion of creative and critical faculties- Attitude toward music-Effects of introspection- Elected Fellow of Magdalen-Wins the Chancellor's Prize with an essay on the Renaissance-Breakdown in health-An idyllic episode in Switz« less