She was loved and adored with a devotion not
of this earth, a devotion which was the sole source of all things lofty
and good; she had become the saviour of humanity and queen of the
universe.
The rejection of sensuality is an inherent part of the Christian
religion; only he who had overcome his sinful desires was a hero.
Spiritual love was as yet unknown, only the sexual impulse was realised,
and that was looked upon as a sin; there was but one way of escape:
renunciation. This view is very clearly expressed in the legends of
Alexius, and in Barlaam and Josaphat (which although of Indian origin,
had found a German interpreter and were known all over Europe). The
latter legend tells how Prince Josaphat, a devout Christian, married a
beautiful princess. On his wedding night he had a vision of the
celestial paradise, the dominion of chastity, and the earthly pool of
sin. Recognising in his bride a devil who had come to tempt him, he left
her and fled into the desert. Many legends illustrate the incapacity of
the first millenary to realise the relationship between the sexes in any
other sense.
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