Another motive, however, as some think, influenced Calvin to select the treatise on _Clemency_. There was a similarity (and Calvin had noticed it) between the epochs of the author and of the commentator. Seneca, who lived at the time of the first persecutions against the christians, had dedicated his treatise on _Clemency_ to a persecutor. Calvin determined to publish it with a commentary, in the hope (it has been said) that the king, who was fond of books, would read this legacy of antiquity. Without absolutely rejecting this hypothesis, we may say that he was anxious to compose some literary work, and that he displayed solid learning set off by an elegant and pleasing style which at once gave him rank among the literati of his day. These are the words of Seneca, which, thanks to Calvin, were now heard in the capital of the kings of France: 'Clemency becomes no one so much as it does a king.—You spare yourself, when you seem to be sparing another. We must do evil to nobody, not even to the wicked; men do not harm their own diseased limbs. It is the nature of the most cowardly wild beasts to rend those who are lying on the ground, but elephants and lions pass by the man they have thrown down.[221] To take delight in the rattling of chains, to cut off the heads of citizens, to spill much blood, to spread terror wherever he shows himself—is that the work of a king? If it were so, far better would it be for lions, bears, or even serpents to reign over us!'[222] [Sidenote: THE YOUNG AUTHOR'S DIFFICULTIES.] As soon as the work was finished, Calvin thought of publishing it; but the booksellers turned their backs on him, for an author's first work rarely tempts them. The young commentator was not rich, but he came to a bold resolution. He felt, as it would appear, that authorship would be his vocation, that God himself called him, and he was determined to take the first step in spite of all obstacles. He said: 'I will publish the book on _Clemency_ at my own expense;' but when the printing was finished, he became uneasy. 'Upon my word,' he said, 'it has cost me more money than I had imagined.'[223] The young author wrote his name in Latin on the title-page of the first work he published, _Calvinus_, whence the word _Calvin_ was derived, which was substituted for the family name of _Cauvin_. He dedicated his book to the abbot of St. Eloy (4th April, 1532), and then gave it to the world. It was a great affair for him, and he was full of anxiety at its chances and dangers. 'At length the die is cast,'[224] he wrote to Daniel on the 23rd of May; 'my Commentary on _Clemency_ has appeared.'