Urban, who at that moment chanced to be very busied in his contest with Clement, did not think it prudent to begin another with Wickliffe, and so let the matter rest there. From this time the doctor passed the remainder of his days in peace in the company of three personages, two of whom were his particular friends, and the third his constant adversary: these were _Aletheia_, _Phronesis_, and _Pseudes_. _Aletheia_ (truth) proposed questions; _Pseudes_ (falsehood) urged objections; and _Phronesis_ (understanding) laid down the sound doctrine. These three characters carried on a conversation (_trialogue_) in which great truths were boldly professed. The opposition between the pope and Christ--between the canons of Romanism and the Bible--was painted in striking colours. This is one of the primary truths which the church must never forget. "The church has fallen," said one of the interlocutors in the work in question, "because she has abandoned the Gospel, and preferred the laws of the pope. Although there should be a hundred popes in the world at once, and all the friars living should be transformed into cardinals, we must withhold our confidence unless so far as they are founded in Holy Scripture."[191] [191] Ideo si essent centum papæ, et omnes fratres essent versi in cardinales, non deberet concedi sententiæ suæ in materia fidei, nisi de quanto se fundaverint in Scriptura. Trialogus, lib. iv. cap. vii. [Sidenote: DEATH OF WICKLIFFE.] These words were the last flicker of the torch. Wickliffe looked upon his end as near, and entertained no idea that it would come in peace. A dungeon on one of the seven hills, or a burning pile in London, was all he expected. "Why do you talk of seeking the crown of martyrdom afar?" asked he. "Preach the Gospel of Christ to haughty prelates, and martyrdom will not fail you. What! I should live and be silent? ... never! Let the blow fall, I await its coming."[192] [192] Vaughan's Life of Wickliffe, ii, p. 215, 257. The stroke was spared him. The war between two wicked priests, Urban and Clement, left the disciples of our Lord in peace. And besides, was it worth while cutting short a life that was drawing to a close? Wickliffe, therefore, continued tranquilly to preach Jesus Christ; and on the 29th December 1384, as he was in his church at Lutterworth, in the midst of his flock, at the very moment that he stood before the altar, and was elevating the host with trembling hands, he fell upon the pavement struck with paralysis. He was carried to his house by the affectionate friends around him, and after lingering forty-eight hours resigned his soul to God on the last day of the year. [Sidenote: WICKLIFFE'S CHARACTER.]