He did not so much as venture to hint at one of the remedies; but at the second sitting, two days later (22d August), Coligny boldly opened up the matter by presenting a petition from the Huguenots, in which they justified their faith by Scripture, asserted their loyalty and love for the king, professed that they had never understood their duty so well toward their sovereign as since they had been converted to the new doctrine, prayed that a stop might be put to the cruel persecutions under which they were suffering, and asked permission to read the Bible and hold their meetings in open day, offering in return “to pay larger tribute than the rest of His Majesty’s subjects.” Strange to say, the prayer of the petition was supported by two high ecclesiastical dignitaries--John de Montluc, Bishop of Valence, and Charles de Marillac, Archbishop of Vienne. Montluc was an eloquent speaker, much esteemed for his experience in public affairs and knowledge of sacred literature. He denounced the severities and tyranny of the judges toward the Lutherans, and charged the Guises with violating the laws of the kingdom and sowing dissensions between the king and his subjects. He described the superior clergy as “idlers not having the fear of God before their eyes, or that they would have to give an account of their flocks,” adding that their only care was for the revenue of their sees, and that thirty or forty of them were non-resident, leading scandalous lives in Paris; the inferior clergy he characterized as ignorant and avaricious. He went on to say: “Let your majesty see that the word of God be no more profaned, but let the Scriptures be everywhere read and explained with purity and sincerity. Let the Gospel be preached daily in your house, so that the mouths of those may be shut who say that God’s name is never heard there.” Then turning to the two queens, Mary Stuart and Catherine de Medicis, he continued: “Pardon me, ladies, if I dare entreat you to order your damsels to sing not foolish songs, but the Psalms of David and spiritual hymns; and remember that the eye of God is over all men and in all places, and is fixed there only where his name is praised and exalted.” The remedy he proposed, and which had been mentioned in the petition presented by Coligny, was a general council.