Books III and Iv of Spenser's Faerie Queene construct an intricate philosophy of love involving the association of feminine with matter and masculine with form, or spirit. As a Christian, Spenser recognized the polarization of spirit and flesh and sought to sanctify human love by arguing that the marriage of man and woman represents a reformation of the polarities of divided human nature: indeed, that man and women bring spiritual and material gifts, respectively, to one another. Women provide material generation and a lineage which is eternal through change. Men add spiritual and intellectual purpose which transcends both flesh and time.