Exemplum:2 

Once upon a time, 
there was a maiden, 
daughter of a king, 
of great heart and nobility 
and also of noble character; 
and she lived in a far off land. 



So it happened that this maiden 
heard tell of the great 
gentle courtesy and nobility 
of the king, Alexander, 
and very soon her will 
loved him because of 
the great renown of his gentility.



But this maiden was so far 
from this great lord, 
in whom she had fixed 
her love from herself, 
that she was able neither 
to see him nor to have him. 
Thus she was inconsolable 
in herself, 
for no love except this one 
would be sufficient for her. 
When she saw that this faraway love, 
who was so close within her, 
was so far outside of her, 
she thought to herself 
that she would comfort 
her melancholy by imagining 
some figure of her love, 
by whom she was continually 
wounded in heart. 
And so she had an image 
painted which would represent 
the semblance of the king 
she loved, an image 
as close as possible 
to that which presented itself 
to her in her love for him 
and in the affection of the love 
which captured her. 
And by means of this image 
with her other habits 
she dreamed of the king.





Soul: In truly similar fashion, 
speaks the Soul 
who had this book written, 
I tell you of such a thing: 
I heard tell of a King 
of great power who was 
by gentle courtesy 
and by very great courtesy 
of nobility and largesse 
a noble Alexander. 




But He was so far from me, 
and I from Him, 
that I did not know 
how to take comfort 
for myself. 

And for the sake 
of my memory of Him, 
He gave me this book, 
which makes present 
in some fashion His love itself. 
But it is no hindrance 
that I have His image 
for it is not true 
that I am in a strange land 
and very far from the palace 
where the very noble friends 
of this Lord dwell, 
who are compleltely pure, 
perfect, and free 
through the gifts 
of the King with whom 
they remain. 

Main Page

Marguerite Porete,
The Mirror of Simple Souls.

Prologue

By use of the simple narrative in the Exemplum, Love speaks to the soul and tells of separation from the desire of life, and what steps may be taken to arrive at the "perfection of being".

Form and Formless,
Images of God,
God the Formless

Humanity has constantly known and expressed a relationship to an "other" greater than oneself, yet fully encompassing the self, for example, controlling the elements, the weather, the harbinger of food and sustenance.

Constantly, the religious systems of humankind have created and kept, adored, and made offerings to images of the Formless. Devotion to a Divine form can take us to the formless aspect of God residing in our heart.

In the beginning, one commences devotion and focuses on a specific form. But gradually spiritual progress goes beyond that form and realises the formless Divinity.

Little children must be taught with the help of slates and boards, on which illustrations are drawn. Temples, images and pictures are the slates and boards for the children in spiritual progress. Human beings find it very hard to relate to a formless divine. Hence the need for idols, images, statuary, etc., etc. Devotion requires an object - in order for devotion to bear fruit.

The Exemplum offered by Porete here illustrates this; Love must have an object of love in order to love - love directed toward a formless entity is fruitless; Soul replies that it is no hindrance to have an object, in this case, an image of the "King", in order for Love to progress to the "perfection of being".

Humankind lives in a world of form, shape, colour, being. Form is necessary for the mind to make sense and order of the world we live in. Without that sense and order, and "perfection of being", Humankind tends toward selfish ends and atrophy. Having a form of the Divine satisfies the mind.

Air is formless, yet takes the shape of the object it is pressed into, a balloon, a football, etc. Water takes the shape of the container it is poured into. Water that is formless takes form when it becomes Ice. When ice melts, it melts back into the formless again. This is an apt metaphor for human life; the body is the soul with form; at the end of life, the soul returns to the formless state.

The fruit of love and devotion is purity; purity of thought, word and deed. For instance, the salt water from the ocean is turned into vapour by the rays of the sun becomes pure and sweet. It has no trace of salt in it. It has been transformed. The same process takes place when the grace of the Lord's rays falls on the polluted minds of humankind and transforms thoughts into pure and sweet feelings.