The dauphin, who had been constantly faithful to them, sought in vain to plead their cause with the king.

He had attacked the Duke of Choiseul; the latter so far forgot himself, it is asserted, as to say to the prince, "Sir, I may have the misfortune to be your subject, but I will never be your servant." The minister had hitherto maintained a prudent reserve; he henceforth joined the favorite and the Parliament against the Jesuits.
On the 6th of August, 1761, the Parliament of Paris delivered a decree ordering the Jesuits to appear at the end of a year for the definite judgment upon their constitutions; pending the judicial decision, all their colleges were closed.

King Louis XV.

still hesitated, from natural indolence and from remembrance of Cardinal Fleury's maxims.

"The Jesuits," the old minister would often say, "are bad masters, but you can make them useful tools." An ecclesiastical commission was convoked; with the exception of the Bishop of Soissons, the prelates all showed themselves favorable to the Jesuits and careless of the old Gallican liberties.