?"

And now, the world standing in this damnable state, cometh in the
occasion of the incarnation of Christ. The Father in heaven, perceiving
the frail nature of man, that he, by himself and of himself, could do
nothing for himself, by his prudent wisdom sent down the second person in
Trinity, his Son Jesus Christ, to declare unto man his pleasure and
commandment: and so, at the Father's will, Christ took on him human
nature, being willing to deliver man out of this miserable way, and was
content to suffer cruel passion in shedding his blood for all mankind;
and so left behind for our safeguard laws and ordinances, to keep us
always in the right path unto everlasting life, as the evangelists, the
sacraments, the commandments, and so forth: which, if we do keep and
observe according to our profession, we shall answer better unto this
question, "Who art thou?" than we did before. For before thou didst
enter into the sacrament of baptism, thou wert but a natural man, a
natural woman; as I might say, a man, a woman: but after thou takest on
thee Christ's religion, thou hast a longer name; for then thou art a
christian man, a christian woman. Now then, seeing thou art a christian
man, what shall be thy answer of this question, "Who art thou?"

The answer of this question is, when I ask it unto myself, I must say
that I am a christian man, a christian woman, the child of everlasting
joy, through the merits of the bitter passion of Christ. This is a
joyful answer. Here we may see how much we be bound and in danger unto
God, that hath revived us from death to life, and saved us that were
damned: which great benefit we cannot well consider, unless we do
remember what we were of ourselves before we meddled with him or his
laws; and the more we know our feeble nature, and set less by it, the
more we shall conceive and know in our hearts what God hath done for us;
and the more we know what God hath done for us, the less we shall set by
ourselves, and the more we shall love and please God: so that in no
condition we shall either know ourselves or God, except we do utterly
confess ourselves to be mere vileness and corruption. Well, now it is
come unto this point, that we be christian men, christian women, I pray
you what doth Christ require of a christian man, or of a christian woman?
Christ requireth nothing else of a christian man or woman, but that they
will observe his rule: for likewise as he is a good Augustine friar that