Editing John Addington Symonds (section)

==Career==
Symonds intended to study law, but his health again broke down and forced him to travel. Returning to Clifton, he lectured there, both at the college and ladies' schools. From his lectures, he prepared the essays in his ''Introduction to the Study of Dante'' (1872) and ''Studies of the Greek Poets'' (1873–1876).{{sfn|Waugh|1911}}

Meanwhile, he was occupied with his major work, ''Renaissance in Italy'', which appeared in seven volumes at intervals between 1875 and 1886. Since his prize essay on the [[Renaissance]] at Oxford, Symonds had wanted to study it further and emphasise the reawakening of art and literature in Europe. His work was interrupted by serious illness. In 1877 his life was in danger. His recovery at [[Davos Platz]] led him to believe this was the only place where he was likely to enjoy life.{{sfn|Waugh|1911}}

He practically made his home at Davos, and wrote about it in ''Our Life in the Swiss Highlands'' (1891). Symonds became a citizen of the town; he took part in its municipal business, made friends with the peasants, and shared their interests. There he wrote most of his books: biographies of [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] (1878), [[Philip Sidney]] (1886), [[Ben Jonson]] (1886) and [[Michelangelo]] (1893), several volumes of poetry and essays, and a translation of the ''Autobiography of [[Benvenuto Cellini]]'' (1887).{{sfn|Waugh|1911}}

There, too, he completed his study of the [[Renaissance]], the work for which he is chiefly remembered. He was feverishly active throughout his life. Considering his poor health, his productivity was remarkable.{{sfn|Waugh|1911}} Two works, a volume of essays, ''In the Key of Blue'', and a monograph on [[Walt Whitman]], were published in the year of his death. His activity was unbroken to the last.

He had a passion for Italy, and for many years resided during the autumn in the house of his friend, [[Horatio Robert Forbes Brown|Horatio F. Brown]], on the Zattere, in Venice. In 1891 he made an effort to visit [[Karl Heinrich Ulrichs]] in [[L'Aquila]]. He died in Rome and was buried close to the grave of [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]].{{sfn|Waugh|1911}}

[[File:§Symonds,_John_Addington_-_Tomba_al_Cimitero_acattolico,_Roma_-_Foto_di_Massimo_Consoli_1996_2.jpg|thumb|Symonds' tomb in Rome]]