First printed at Paris in 1623, its reception both there and in Italy secured apotheosis in his lifetime for the poet.[187] One minor point in this magnificent first folio edition of _Adone_ deserves notice, as not uncharacteristic of the age.

Only two Cantos out of the twenty are distinguished by anything peculiar in their engraved decorations.

Of these two, the eleventh displays the shield of France; the thirteenth, which describes Falsirena's incantations and enchantments, is ornamented with the symbol of the Jesuits, IHS.

For this the publishers alone were probably responsible.

Yet it may stand as a parable of all-pervasive Jesuitry.