Jacques de Silly, the orator of the Nobility, began by making a preposterous defense of the divine origin of his order, and went on to accuse the Clergy of encroaching on the power of the judicial tribunals.[223] “It is your business,” he said, “not to interfere with edicts, but to pray, preach, and administer the sacraments.” The Nobility were more eager for change than the Tiers État. Those of Touraine demanded a church reform in conformity with the pure word of God; others, that all religious differences should be decided by the Bible alone. The Clergy wisely thought that their best policy would be to stand mainly on the defensive.[224] Their orator, Jean Quentin, who read his speech, acknowledged that their discipline needed correction, but that such a reform could not be brought about by profaning the churches, destroying the images, and expelling the priests. “I contend,” he said, “that it is necessary to preserve the Catholic religion in France, and consequently to refuse liberty of conscience to such as dissent from it.” He then argued that all ecclesiastical property ought to be used according to the wishes of the donors, and that the clergy should be relieved of the _décimes_ and other imposts by which they were oppressed. In the course of his speech, Quentin went out of his way to insult Coligny, as a “reviver of old heresies;” and advised “that any one petitioning for freedom of worship should be declared heretical, and proceeded against accordingly, so that the evil might be removed from among us.”[225] He gave point to his words by looking at the admiral, who complained of such language and demanded an apology, which was made. This humiliation, added to the satires and epigrams showered upon him by the offended Huguenots, gave poor Quentin such a shock that he is reported to have died a few days after.