CHAPTER 1: ADVENT OF A NATIONAL HERO

Dr. Jose Rizal is a unique example of a many-splendored genius who became

the greatest hero of a nation. Endowed by God with versatile gifts, he truly ranked with
the world’s geniuses. He was a physician (ophthalmic surgeon), poet, dramatist,
essayist, novelist, historian, architect, painter, sculptor, educator, linguist, musician,
naturalist, ethnologist, surveyor, engineer, farmer businessman, economist, geographer,
cartographer, bibliophile, philologist, grammarian, folklorist, philosopher, translator,
inventor, magician, humorist, satirist, polemicist, sportsman, traveler, and prophet.
Above and beyond all these, he was a hero and political martyr who consecrated his life
for the redemption of his oppressed people. No wonder, he is now acclaimed as the
national hero of the Philippines.
The Birth of a Hero. Jose Rizal was born on the moonlit night of Wednesday,
June 19, 1861, in the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines. His
mother almost died during the delivery because of his big head. As he recounted many
years later in his student memoirs “I was born in Calamba on 19 June, 1861, between
eleven and midnight, a few days before full moon. It was a Wednesday and my coming
out in this vale of tears would have cost my mother her life had she not vowed to the
virgin of Antipolo to take me to her sanctuary by way of pilgrimage.”
He was baptized in the Catholic church of his town on June 22, aged three days
old, by, the parish priest. Father Rufino Collantes, who was a Batangueño. His
godfather (ninong) was Father Pedro Casañas, native of Calamba and close friend of
the Rizal family. His name “Jose was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the
Christian saint San Jose (St Joseph)
JOSE RIZAL LIFE, WORKS AND WRITING
During the christening ceremony Father Collantes was impressed by the baby’s
big head, and told the members of the family who were present: “Take good care of this
child, for someday he will become a great man.” His words proved to be prophetic, as
confirmed by subsequent events,
The baptismal certificate of Rizal reads as follows:
“I, the undenigned parish priest of Calamba, certify that from the investigation
made with proper authority, for replacing the parish books which were burned
September 28, 1862, to be found in Docket No.1 of Baptisms, p. 49, it appears by the
sworn testimony of competent witnesses that JOSE RIZAL MERCADO is the legitimate
son, and of lawful wedlock, of Don Francisco Rizal Mercado and I Dona Teodora
Realonda, having been baptized in this parish on the 22 nd day of June in the year 1861,
by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes, Rev. Pedro Casanas being his godfather-
Witness my signature.
(Signed): LEONCIO LOPEZ
It should be noted that at the time Rizal was born, the governor general of the
Philippines was Lieutenant General Jose Lemery, former senator of Spain (member of
the upper chamber of the Spanish Cortes). He governed the Philippines from Feb ruary
2, 1861 to July 7, 1862. Incidentally, on the same date of Rizal’s birth (June 19, 1861),
he sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Ultramar in Madrid,
denouncing Sultan Pulalun of Sulu and several powerful Moro datus for fraternizing with
a British consul. Among his achieve ments as governor general were (1) fostering the
cultivation of cotton in the provinces and (2) establishing the politico-military
governments in the Visayas and in Mindanao.
Rizal’s Parents. Jose Rizal was the seventh of the cleven children of Francisco
Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Realonda. The hero’s father, Francisco (1818-1898)
was born in Biñan, Laguna, on May 11, 1818. He studied Latin and Philosophy at the
College of San Jose in Manila In early man hood, following his parent’s death, he
moved to Calamba and became a tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned hacienda. He
was a hardy and independent-minded man, who talked less and worked more, and was
strong in body and valiant in spirit. He died in Manila on January 5, 1898, at the age of
80. In his student memoirs, Rizal affectionately called him “a model of fathers.
Doña Teodora (1826-1911), the hero’s mother, was born in Manila on November
8, 1826 and was educated at the College of Santa Rosa, a well-known college for girls
in the city. She was a remarkable woman, possessing refined culture, literary talent,
business ability, and the fortitude of Spartan women Rizal lovingly said of her: “My
mother is a woman of mate than ordinary culture; she knows literature and speaks
Spanish better than 1. She corrected my poems and gave me good advice when I was
studying rhetoric. She is a mathematician and has read many books.” Doña Teodora
died in Manila on August 16, 1911, at the age of 85. Shortly before her death the
Philippine government offered her a life pension. She courteously rejected it saying. “My
family has never been patriotic for money. If the government has plenty of funds and
does not know what to do with them, better reduce the taxes. Such remarks truly
befitted her as a worthy mother of a national hero.
The Rizal Children. God blessed the marriage of Francisco Mercado Rizal and
Teodora Alonso Realonda with eleven chil dren-two boys and nine girls. These children
were as follows:
1. Saturnina (1850-1913) oldest of the Rizal children, nicknamed Neneng: she
married Manuel T Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas.

2 Paciano (1851-1930) older brother and confidant of Jose Rizal, after his
younger brother’s execution he joined the Philippine Revolution and became
a combat general, after the Revolution, he retired to his farm in Los Baños,
where he lived as a gentleman farmer and died on April 13, 1930, an old
bachelor aged 79. He had two children by his mistress (Severina Decena)
boy and girl.

3 Narcisa (1852-1939)-her pet name was Sisa and she married Antonio Lopez
(nephew of Father Leoncio Lopez), a school teacher of Morong

4 Olimpia (1855-1887) Ypia was her pet name she married Silvestre Ubaldo, a
telegraph operator from Manila

5 Lucia (1857-1919)- She married Mariano HerBosa of Calamba, who was a

nephew of Father Casan Herbosa died of cholers in 1889 and was denied
Christian burial because he was a brother-in-law of Dr. Rizal.

6 Maria (1859-1945) Biang was her nickname: she married Daniel Faustino
Cruz of Bidan, Laguna.

7 JOSE (1861-1896)- the greatest Filipino her and peerless genius; his
nickname was Pepe; during his exile in Dapitan he lived with Josephine
Bracken, Irish girl from Hong Kong, he had son by her, but this baby-boy died
few hours after birth; Rizal named him “Francisco” after a his father and
buried him in Dapitan.

8 Concepcion (1862-1865)-her pet name was Coo cha; she died of sickness at
the age of 3; her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life.

9 Josefa (1865-1945)- her pet name was Panggoy, she died an old maid at the
age of 80

10 Trinidad (1868-1951) Trining was her pet name, she died also an old maid in
1951 aged 83
11 Soledad (1870-1929)-youngest of the Rizal children; her pet name was
Choleng: she married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba

Sibling relationship among the Rizal children was affection ately cordial. As a
little boy, Rizal used to play games with his sisters. Although he had boyish quarrels
with them he respected them. Years later when he grew to manhood, he always called
them Doña or Señora (if married) and Señorita (if single). For instance, he called his
older sister “Doña Ypis,” his oldest sister “Señora Saturnina,” and his unmarried sisters
“Señorita Josefa and “Señorita Trinidad.”
Rizal’s relation with his only brother Paciano, who was ten years his senior, was
more than that of younger to older brother. Paciano was a second father to him.
Throughout his life, Rizal respected him and greatly valued his sagacious advice. He
immortalized him in his first novel Noli Me Tangere as the wise Pilosopo Tasio. In a
letter to Blumentritt, written in London on June 23, 1888, he regarded Paciano as the
“most noble of Filipinos” and though an Indio, more generous and noble than all the
Spaniards put together. And in a subsequent letter also written to Blumentritt and dated
London, October 12, 1888, he spoke of his beloved older brother, as follows: “He is
much finer and more serious than I am; he is bigger and more slim; he is not so dark;
his nose is fine, beautiful and sharp; but he is bow-legged.
Rizal’s Ancestry. As a typical Filipino, Rizal was a product of the mixture of
races. In his veins flowed the blood of both East and West-Negrito, Indonesian, Malay,
Chinese, Japanese. And Spanish. Predominantly, he was a Malayan and was a
magnificent specimen of Asian manhood. Rizal’s great-great grand father on his father’s
side was Domingo Laméo, a Chinese immigrant from the Fukien city of Changchow,
who arrived in Manila about 1690. He became a Christian, married a well-to-do Chinese
Christian girl of Manila named Ines de la Rosa, and I assumed 1731 the surname
Mercado which was appropriate for him because he was a merchant. The Spanish term
mercado means “market” in English. Domingo Mercado and Ines de la Rosa had a son,
Francisco Mercado, who resided in Biñan, married a Chinese-Filipino mestiza, Cirila
Bernacha, and was elected gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of the town. One of their
sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal’s grandfather), married Cirila Alejandro, a Chinese-Filipino
mestiza. Like his father, he was elected governadorcillo of Biñan. Capitan Juan and
Capitana Cirila had thirteen children, the youngest being Francisco Mercado, Rizal’s
father.
At the age of eight, Francisco Mercado lost his father and grew up to manhood
under the care of his mother. He studied Latin and Philosophy in the College of San
Jose in Manila. While studying in Manila, he met and fell in love with Teodora Alonso
Realonda, a student in the College of Santa Rosa They were married on June 28, 1848,
after which they settled down in Calamba, where they engaged in farming and business
and reared a big family,
It is said that Doña Teodora’s family descended from Lakan Dula, the last native
king of Tondo. Her great-grandfather (Rizal’s maternal great-great-grandfather) was
Eugenio Urus (of Japanese ancestry), who married a Filipina named Benigna (surname
unknown). Their daughter, Regina, married Manuel de Quintos, a Filipino-Chinese
lawyer from Pangasinan One of the daughters of Attorney Quintos and Regina s
Brigida, who married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a prominent Spanish-Filipino mestizo of
Biñan. Their children were Narcisa, Teodora (Rizal's mother), Oregorio, Manuel, and
Jose.
The Surname Rizal. The real surname of the Rizal family was Mercado, which
was adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco (the paternal great-great-grandfather of Jose
Rizal), who was a full-blooded Chinese. Rizal's family acquired a second surname-
Rizal-which was given by a Spanish alcalde mayor (provincial governor) of Laguna, who
was a family friend. Thus said Dr. Rizal, in his letter to Blumentritt (without date or
place).
I am the only Rizal because at home my parents, my sisters, my brother, and my
relatives have always preferred our old surname Mercado. Our family name was in fact
Mercado, but there were many Mercados in the Philippines who are not related to us. It
is said that an alcalde mayor, who was a friend of our family added Rizal to our name.
My family did not pay much attention to this, but now I have to use it. In this way, it
seems that I am an illegitimate son
"Whoever that Spanish alcalde mayor was," commented Ambassador Leon Ma.
Guerrero, distinguished Rizalist and diplomat, "his choice was prophetic for Rizal in
Spanish means a field where wheat, cut while still green, sprouts again.
The Rizal Home. The house of the Rizal family, where the hero was born, was
one of the distinguished stone houses in Calamba during Spanish times. It was a two-
storey building. rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and hard-woods, and roofed
with red tiles. It is described by Dr. Rafael Palma, one of Rizal's prestigious biographers,
as follows
The house was high and even sumptuous, a solid and massive earthquake-proof
structure with sliding shell windows. Thick walls of lime and stone bounded the first
floor, the second floor was made entirely of wood except for the roof, which was of red
tile, in the style of the buildings in Manila at that time. As the back there was an azotea
and a wide, deep cistern to hold rain water for home use. Behind the house were the
poultry yard full of turkeys and chickens and a big garden of tropical fruit trees-atis,
balimbing, chico, macopa, papaya, santol, tampoy, etc.
It was a happy home where parental affection and children's laughter reigned. By
day, it hummed with the noises of children at play and the songs of the birds in the
garden. By night, it echoed with the dulcet notes of family prayers Such a wholesome
home, naturally, bred a wholesome family. And such a family was the Rizal family.
A Good and Middle-Class Family. The Rizal family belonged to the principalia,
a town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines. It was one of the distinguished families in
Calamba. By dint of honest and hard work and frugal living, Rizal's parents were able to
live well. From the farms, which were rented from the Dominican Order, they harvested
rice, corn, and sugarcane. They raised pigs, chickens, and turkeys in their backyard. In
addition to farming and stockraising. Doña Teodora managed a general goods store
and operated a small flour-mill and a home-made hum press.
As evidence of their affluence, Rizal’s parents were able to build a large stone
house which was situated near the town church and to buy another one. They owned a
carriage, which was a status symbol of the ilustrados in Spanish Philippines and a
private library (the largest in Calamba) which consisted of more than 1,000 volumes.
They sent their children to the colleges in Manila. Combining affluence and culture,
hospitality and courtesy, they participated prominently in all social and religious affairs in
the community. They were gracious hosts to all visitors and guests friars, Spanish
officials, and Filipino friends during the town fiestas and other holidays, Beneath their
roof, all guests irrespective of their color, rank, social position, and economic status,
were welcome.
Home Life of the Rizals. The Rizal family had a simple. contented, and happy
life. In consonance with Filipino custom, family ties among the Rizals were intimately
close. Don Francisco and Doña Teodora loved their children, but they never spoiled
them. They were strict parents and they trained their children to love God, to behave
well, to be obedient, and to respect people, especially the old folks. Whenever the
children, including Jose Rizal, got into mischief, they were given a sound spanking
Evidently, they believed in the maxim: "Spare the rod and spoil the child."
Every day the Rizals (parents and children) heard Mass in the town church,
particularly during Sundays and Christian hob days. They prayed together daily at
home-the Angelus at sunset and the Rosary before retiring to bed at night. After the
family prayers, all the children kissed the hands of their parents.
Life was not, however, all prayers and church services for the Rizal children.
They were given ample time and freedom to play by their strict and religious parents.
They played merrily in the azotea or in the garden by themselves. The older ones were
allowed to play with the children of other families.
Chapter 2: Childhood Years in Calamba
Jose Rizal had many beautiful memories of childhood in his native town. He grew
up in a happy home, ruled by good parents, bubbling with joy, and sanctified by God’s
blessings. His natal town of Calamba, so named after a big native jar, was a fitting
cradle for a hero. Its scenic beauties and its industrious, hospitable, and friendly folks
impressed him during his childhood years and I profoundly affected his mind and
character. The happiest period of Rizal’s life was spent in this lakeshore town, a worthy
prelude to his Hamlet-like tragic manhood.
Calamba, the Hero’s Town. Calamba was an haciendas town. Which belonged
to the Dominican Order, which also owned all the lands around it. It is a picturesque
town nestling on a verdant plain covered with irrigated rice fields and sugar-lands. A few
kilometers to the south looms the legendary Mount Makiling in somnolent grandeur, and
beyond this mountain is the province of Batangas. East of the town is the Laguna de
Bay, an inland lake of songs and emerald waters beneath the canopy of azure skies. In
the middle of the lake towers the storied island of Talim, and beyond it towards the north
is the distant Antipolo, famous mountain shrine of the miraculous Lady of Peace and
Good Voyage.
Rizal loved Calamba with all his heart and soul. In 1876, when he was 15 years
old and was a student in the Ateneo de Manila, he remembered his beloved town.
Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town), as
follows
When early childhood’s happy days
In memory I see once more
Along the lovely verdant shore
That meets a gently murmuring sea
When I recall the whisper soft
Of zephyrs dancing on my brow
With cooling sweetness, even now
New luscious life is born in me
When I behold the lily white
That sways to do the wind’s command,
While gently sleeping on the sand
The stormy water rests awhile,
When from the flowers there softly breathes
A bouquet ravishingly sweet,
Out-poured the newborn dawn to meet,
As on us the begins to smile.

With sadness I recall

Thy face, in precious infancy,
Oh mother, friend most dear to me.
Who gave to life a wondrous charm
I yet recall a village plain,
My joy, my family, my boon,
Besides the freshly cool lagoon,
The spot for which my heart beats warm.

Ah yes! My footsteps insecure

In your dark forests deeply sank
And there by every river’s bank I found refreshment and delight
Within that rustic temple prayed
With childhood’s simple faith unfeigned
While cooling breezes, pure, unstained,
Would send my heart on rapturous flight.

I saw the Maker in the grandeur

Of your ancient hoary wood,
Ah, never in your refuge could
A mortal by regret he smitten,
And while upon your sky of blue
I gaze, no love nor tenderness
Could fail, for here on nature’s dress
My happiness itself was written.
Ah, tender childhood, lovely town.
Rich fount of my felicities,
Oh those harmonious melodies
Which put to flight all dismal hours,
Come back to my heart once more!
Come back, gentle hours, 1 yearn!
Come back as the birds return,
At the budding of the flowers!

Alas, farewell Eternal vigil I keep

For thy peace, thy bliss, and tranquility.
O Genius of good, so kind!
Give me these gifts, with charity.
To thee are my fervent sows,
To thee I cease not to sigh
These to learn, and I call to the sky
To have thy sincerity

Earliest Childhood Memories. The first memory of Rizal, in

His infancy, was his happy days in the family garden when he was three years
old. Because he was a frail, sickly, and undersized child, he was given the tenderest
care by his parents. His father built a little nips cottage in the garden for him to play in
the day time. A kind old woman was employed as an aya (narse maidy to look after his
comfort. At times, he was left alone to muse on the beauties of nature or to play by
himself. In his boyhood memoirs, he narrated how he, at the age of three, watched from
his garden cottage, the culiauan, the maya, the maria capra, the murin, the pipit, and
other birds and listened “with wonder and joy to their twilight songs
Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, Rizal
related, his mother gathered all the children at the house to pray the Angelus.
With nostalgic feeling, he also remembered the happy moonlit nights at the
azotea after the nightly Rosary. The aya related to the Rizal children (including Jose)
many stories about the fairies, tales of buried treasure and trees blooming with
diamonds, and other fabulous stories. The imaginary tales told by the aya aroused in
Rizal an enduring interest in legends and folklore. Sometimes, when he did not like to
take his supper, the aya would threaten him that the aruang, the nuno, the tigbalang, or
a terrible bearded and turbaned Bombay would come to take him away if he would not
eat his supper.
Another memory of his infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town, especially
when there was a moon. The aya took him for a walk in the moonlight by the river,
where the trees cast grotesque shadows on the bank. Recounting this childhood
experience in his student memoirs, Rizal wrote: “Thus my heart fed on sombre and
melancholic thoughts so that even while still a child, I already wandered on wings of
fantasy in the high regions of the unknown.
The Hers’s First Sorrow. The Rizal children were bound together by ties of love
and companionship. They were well-bred, for their parents taught them to love and help
one another.
Of his sisters, Jose loved most the little Concha (Concepcion). He was a year
older than Concha. He played with her and from her he learned the sweetness of
sisterly love.
Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1861 when she was only three years
old. Jose, who was very fond of her, cried bitterly at losing her. “When I was four years
old,” he said, “I lost my little sister Concha, and then for the first time I shed tears
caused by love and grief. The death of little Concha brought him his first sorrow.
Devoted Son of the Church. A scion of a Catholic clan, born and bred in a
wholesome atmosphere of Catholicism, and possessed of an inborn pious spirt, Rizal
grew up a good Catholic. At the age of three, he began to take part in the family
prayers.
His mother, who was a devout Catholic, taught him the Catholic prayers. When
he was five years old, he was able to read Haltingly the Spanish family Bible. He loved
to go to church, to pray, to take part in sovenas, and to join the religious processions. It
is said that he was so seriously devout that he was laughingly called Manong Jose by
the Hermanos und Hermanas Terceras.
One of the men he esteemed and respected in Calamba during his boyhood was
the scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest. He used to visit this learned Filipino
priest and listen to hit stimulating opinions on current events and sound philosophy of
life.
Pilgrimage to Antipolo. On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to
go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when
Jose was born. Dona Teodora could not accompany them because she had given birth
to Trinidad.
It was the first trip of Jose acros Laguna de Bay and his first pilgrimage to
Antipolo. He and his father rode in a casco (barge). He was thrilled, as a typical boy
should, by his first lake voyage He did not sleep the whole night as the casco sailed
towards the Pasig River because he was awed by the magnificence of the watery
expanse and the silence of the night.” Writing many years later of this experience, he
said: “With what pleasure I saw the sunrise for the first time I saw how the luminous
rays shone, producing a brilliant effect on the ruffled surface of the wide lake.
After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to
Manila, was the first time Jose saw Manila. They visited Saturnina, who was then a
boarding student at La Concordia College in Santa Ana
The Story of the Moth. Of the stories told by Dona Teodora to her favorite son,
Jose, that of the young moth made the profoundest impression on him. Speaking of this
incident, Riral wrote:
One night, all the family, except my mother and myself, went to bed early Why,
do not know, but we two remained siting alone. The candles had already been put out.
They had blown out in their globes be means of a curved tube of tin. That tube seemed
on me the finest and most wonderful. The world. The room was dimly lighted by a single
of coconut oil. In all Filipino homes such a light burn through the night. It goes out just at
cay-break to awaken people by its spluttering
My mother was teaching me to read in a Spanish reader called “ Children’s
Friend” (El Amigo de los Nior). This was quite a rare book and an old copy. It had lost its
cover and my sister had cleverly made a new one. She had fastened a sheet of thick
blue paper over the back and then covered it with a piece of cloth
This might my mother became impatient with hearing me so poorly I did not
understand Spanish and so I could not read with expression. She took the book from
me First she scolded me for drawing funny pictures on its pages. Then she told me to
listen and she began to read. When her sight was good, she read very well. She could
recite well, and understood verse-making, too Many times during Christmas as
vacations, my mother corrected my poetical compositions and she always made
valuable criticisms.
I listened to her, full of childish. I marvelled at the nice-sounding phrases which
she read from those same pages. The phrases she read so easily stopped me at every
breath. Perhaps I grew tired of listening to sounds that had no meaning for me. Perhaps
I lacked self-control. Anyway, I paid little attention to the reading. I was watching the
cheerful flame. About it, some little moths were circling in playful fights. By chance, too.
I yawed. My mother soon noticed that I was not interested. She stopped reading. Then
she said to me: “I am going to read you a very pretty story. Now pry attention.
On hearing the word ‘story I at once opened my eyes wide. The word ‘story
promised something new and wonderful. I watched my mother while she turned the
leases of the book, as if she were looking for something Then I settled down to listen. I
was full of curiosity and wonder. I had never even dreamed that there were stories in
the old book which I read without understanding My mother began to read me the fable
of the young moth and the old one. She translated it into Tagalog a little at a time.
My attention increased from the first sentence. I looked toward the light and fixed
my gaze on the moths which were circling around it. The story could not have been
better timed. My mother repeated the warning of the old moth. She dwelt upon it and
directed it to me 1heard her, bus it is a curious thing that the light seemed to me each
time more beautiful the flame more attractive. I really envied the fortune of the insects.
They frolicked so joyously in its enchanting splendor that the ones which had fallen and
been drowned in the oil did not cause me any dread.
My mother keep on reading and listened breathlessly. The fate of the two insects
interested me greatly. The flame rolled its golden tongue to one side and a moth which
this movement had singed fell into the oil, fluttered for a time und then became quiet
That became for me a great event. A curious change came over me which I have
always noticed in myself whenever anything has stirred my feelings. The flame and the
moth seemed to go farther away and my mother’s words sounded strange and uncanny.
I did not notice when she ended the fable. All my attention was fixed on the face of the
insect. I watched it with my whole soul. It had died a martyr to its illusions
As she put me to bed, my mother said. “See that you do not behave like the
young moth Don’t be disobedient, or you may get burnt as it did.”I do not know whether
I answered or not. The story revealed to me thing until then unknown. Moths no longer
were, for me. Insignificant insect. Moth talked; they knew how to wars. They advised
just heed my mother. The light seemed to me more beautiful. It had grow more dazzling
and more attractive. I know why the moths circled the flame.
The tragic fate of the young moth, which “died a martyr: to its illusions, left a deep
impress on Rizal’s mind. He justified such noble death, asserting that “to sacrifice one’s
life for it, meaning for an ideal, is “worthwhile. And, like that young moth, he was fated to
die as a martyr for a noble ideal.
Artistic Talents. Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-given talent for
art. At the age of five, he began to make sketches with his pencil and to mold in clay
and wax objects which attracted his fancy.
It is said that one day, when Jose was a mere boy in Calamba, a religious banner
which was always used during the fiesta was spoiled. Upon the request of the town
mayor, he painted in oil colors a new banner that delighted the town folks because it
was better than the original one.
Jose had the soul of a genuine artist Rather an introvert child, with a skinny
physique and sad dark eyes, he found great joy looking at the blooming flowers, the
ripening fruits, the dancing waves of the lake, and the milky clouds in the sky, and
listening to the songs of the birds, the chirpings of the cicadas, and the murmurings of
the breezes. He loved to ride on a spirited pony which his father bought for him and take
long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his black dog named Usman.
One interesting anecdote about Rizal was the incident about his clay and wax
images. One day when he was about six years old his sisters laughed at him for
spending so much time making those images rather than participating in their games.
He kept silent as they laughed with childish glee. But as they were departing, he told
them: “All right laugh at me now! Someday when I die, people will make monuments
and images of me!”
First Poems by Rizal. Aside from his sketching and sculpturing talent, Rizal
possessed a God-given gift for literature. Since early boyhood he had scribbled verses
on loose sheets of paper and on the textbooks of his sisters. His mother, who was a
lover of literature, noticed his poetic inclination and encouraged him to write poetry
At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native language entitled Sa
Aking Mga Kababata (To My Fellow Children), as follows:
TO MY FELLOW CHILDREN

Whenever people of a country truly love

The language which by heav’n they were taught to use
That country also surely liberty parson
As does the bird which soars to freer space above.

For language the final judge and referee

Upon the people in the land where it bolds sway,
In truth our human race resembles in this way
The other living beings born in liberty.

Whoever knows not how to love his native tongue

Is worse than any beast or evil smelling fish
To make our language richer ought to be our wish
The same as any mother loves to feed her young

Tagalog and the Latin language are the same

And English and Castilian and the angels tongue,
And God, whose watchful cure oles all is flung,
Has given us His blessing in the speech we claim,

Our mother tongue, like all the highest that we know

Had alphabet and letters of its very own
But these were lost by furious waves were overthrown
Like bancus in the stormy sea, long years ago.

This poem reveals Rizal’s earliest nationalist sentiment. In poetic verses, he

proudly proclaimed that a people who truly love their native language will surely strive
for liberty like “the bird which soars to freer space above” and that Tagalog is the equal
of Latin, English, Spanish, and any other language.
First Drama by Rizal. After writing the poem To My Fellow Children, Rizal, who
was then eight years old, wrote his first Dramatic work which was a Tagalog comedy. It
is said that it was staged in a Calamba festival and was delightfully applauded by the
audience.
A gobernadorcillo from Paete, a town in Laguna famous for lanzones and
woodcarvings, happened to witness the comedy and liked it so much that he purchased
the manuscript for two pesos and brought it to his home town. It was staged in Paete
during its town fiesta.
Rizal as Boy Magician. Since early manhood Rizal had been interested in
magic With his dexterous hands, he learned various tricks, such as making a coin
appear or disappear in his fingers and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air. He
entertained his town folks with magic-lantern exhibitions. This consisted of an ordinary
lamp casting its shadow on a white screen. He twisted his supple fingers into fantastic
shapes, making their enlarged shadows on the screen resemble certain animals and
persons. He also gained skill in manipulating marionettes (puppet shows).
In later years when he attained manhood, he continued his keen predilection for
magic. He read many books on magic and attended the performances of the famous
magicians of the world. In Chapter XVII and XVIII of his second novel, El Filibusterismo
(Treason), be revealed his wide knowledge of magic.
Lakeshore Reveries. During the twilight hours of summer time Rizal,
accompanied by his pet dog, used to meditate at the shore of Laguna de Bay on the
sad conditions of his oppressed people. Years later, he related
I spent many, many hours of my childhood down on the shore of the lake,
Laguna de Bay, I was thinking of what was beyond. I was dreaming of what might be
over on the other side of the waves Almost every day, in our town, we saw the Guardia
Civil lieutenant caning and injuring some unarmed and inoffensive villagers. The
villager’s only fault was that while at a distance he had not taken off his hat and made
his bow The alcalde treated the poor villagers in the same way whenever he visited us
we saw no restraint put upon brutality. Acts of violence and other excesses were
committed daily. I asked myself if, in the lands which lay across the lake, the people
lived in this same way. I wondered if there they tortured any countryman with hard and
cruel whips merely on suspicion
Did they there respect the home? Or ever yonder also, in order to live in peace,
would one have to bribe tyranta?
Young though he was, be grieved deeply over the unhappy situation of his
beloved fatherland. The Spanish misdeeds awakened in his boyish heart a great
determination to fight tyranny. When he became a man, many years later, he wrote to
his friend, Mariano Ponce: “In view of these injustices and cruelties, although yet a child,
my imagination was awakened and I made a vow dedicating myself someday to avenge
the many victims. With this idea in my mind, I studied, and this is seen in all my writings
Someday God will give me the opportunity to fulfill my promise.
Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood. On the night Jose Rizal was born, other
children were born in Calamba and hundreds of other children were also born all over
the Philippines. But why is it that out of all these children, only one boy-JOSE RIZAL
rose to fame and greatness?
In the lives of all men there are influences which cause some to be great and
others not the case of Rizal, he had all the favorable influences, few other children in his
time enjoyed. These influences were the following (1) hereditary influence, (2)
environmental influence, and (3) aid of Divine Providence
1. Hereditary Influence: According to biological science. There are inherent qualities
which a person inherits from his ancestors and parents. From his Malayan
anceston, Rizal, evi dently, inherited his love for freedom, his innate desire to
travel, and his indomitable courage. From his Chinese ancestors, he derived his
serious nature, frugality, patience, and love for children. From he Spanish
ancestors, he got his elegance of bearing, semitivity to insult, and gallantry to
ladies. From his father, he inherited a profound sense of self-respect, the love for
work, and the habit of independent thinking And from his mother, he inherited his
religious nature, the spirit of self-sac rifice, and the passion for arts and literature
2. Environmental Influence: According to psychologists, Environment, as well as
heredity, affects the nature of a person Environmental influence includes places,
associates, and events. Scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful garden of
the Rizal family stimulated the inborn artistic and literary talents of Jose Rizal.
The religious atmosphere at his home fortified his religious nature. His brother,
Paciano, instilled in his mind the love for freedom and justice. From his sisters,
he learned to be courteous and kind to women. The fairy tales told by his ava
during his early childhood awakened bis interest in folklore and legends.
His three uncles, brothers of his mother, exerted a good influence on him. Tio
Jose Alberto, who had studied for eleven years in a British school in Calcutta, India, and
had traveled in Europe inspired him to develop his artistic ability. Tio Manuel, a busky
and athletic man, encouraged him to develop his frail body by means of physical
exercises, including horse riding. Walking, and wrestling. And Tio Gregorio, a book
lover, intensified his voracious reading of good books.
Father Leoncio Lopez, the old and learned parish priest of Calamba, fostered
Rizal’s love for scholarship, and intellectual honesty.
The sorrows in his family, such as the death of Concha in 1865 and the
imprisonment of his mother in 1871-74, contributed to strengthen his character,
enabling him to resist blows of adversity in later years. The Spanish abuses and
cruelties which he witnessed in his boyhood, such as the brutal acts of the lieutenant of
the Guardia Civil and the alcalde, the unjust tortures inflicted on innocent Filipinos, and
the execution of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora in 1872, awakened his spirit of
patriotism and inspired him to consecrate his life and talents to redeem his oppressed
people
3. Aid of Divine Providence Greater than heredity and environment in the fate of
man is the aid of Divine Providence, A person may have everything in life-trains,
wealth, and power-but, without the aid of Divine Providence, he cannot attain
greatness in the annals of the nation. Rizal was providentially destined to be the
pride and glory of his nation God had endowed him with the versatile gifts of a
genius, the vibrant spirit of a nationalist, and the valiant heart to sacrifice for a
noble cause

Chapter 3: Early Education in Calamba and Biñan

Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Biñan. It was a typical schooling
that a son of an ilustrado family received during his time, characterized by the four R’s-
reading, writing. Arithmetic, and religion. Instruction was rigid and strict. Knowledge was
forced into the minds of the pupils by means of the tedius memory method aided by the
teacher’s whip. Despite the defects of the Spanish system of elementary education,
Rizal was able to acquire the necessary instruction preparatory for college work in
Manila and abroad. It may be said that Rizal, who was born a physical weakling, rose to
become an intellectual giant not because of, but rather in spite of, the outmoded and
backward system of instruction obtaining in the Philippines during the last decades of
Spanish regime.
The Hero’s First Teacher. The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was a
remarkable woman of good character and fine culture. On her lap, he learned at the age
of three the alphabet and the prayer. “My mother,” wrote Rizal in his student memoirs,
“taught me how to read and to say haltingly the humble prayers which I raised fervently
to God.
As a tutor, Doña Teodora was patient, conscientious, and understanding. It was
she who first discovered that her son had a talent for poetry. Accordingly, she
encouraged him to write poems. To lighten the monotony of memorizing the ABCs and
to stimulate her son’s imagination, she related many stories.
As Jose grew older, his parents employed private tutors to give him lessons at
home. The first was Maestro Celestino and the second, Maestro Lucas Padua. Later, an
old man named Lean Monroy, a former classmate of Rizal’s father, became the boy’s
tutor. This old teacher lived at the Rizal home and instructed Jose in Spanish and Latin.
Unfortunately, he did not live long. He died five months later.
After Monroy’s death, the hero’s parents decided to send their gifted son to a
private school in Biñan.
Jose Goes to Bian. One Sunday afternoon in June, 1869, lose, after kissing the
hands of his parents and a tearful parting from his sisters, left Calamba for Biñan. He
was accompanied by Paciano, who acted as his second father. The two brothers rode in
a carromata, reaching their destination after one and one-half hours drive. They
proceeded to their aunt’s house, where Jose was to lodge. It was almost night when
they arrived, and the moon was about to rise.
That same night, Jose, with his cousin named Leandro, went sightseeing in the
town. Instead of enjoying the sights, Jose became depressed because of
homesickness. “In the moonlight. He recounted, “I remembered my home town, my
idolized mother, and my solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet to moe was Calamba, my own
town, in spite of the fact, that it was not as wealthy as Biñan
First Day in Bihan School. The next morning (Monday Paciano brought his
younger brother to the school of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz. The school was in the
house of the teacher, which was a small nipa hut about 30 meters from the home of
Jose’s aunt. Paciano knew the teacher quite well because he had been pupil under him
before. He introduced Jose to the teacher, after which he departed to return to
Calamba. Immediately, Jose was assigned his seat in the class. The teacher asked him:
“Do you know Spanish?”
“A little, sir,” replied the Calamba lad
“Do you know Latin?”
“A little, sir.”
The boys in the class, especially Pedro, the teacher’s son, laughed at Jose’s
answers. The teacher sharply stopped all noise and began the lessons of the day
Jose described his teacher in Biñan as follows: “He was tall, thin, long-necked,
with a sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward, and he used to wear a sinamay
shirt, woven by the skilled hands of the women of Batangas. He knew by heart the
grammars by Nebrija and Gainza. Add to this his severity, that in my judgment was
exaggerated, and you have a picture, perhaps vague, that I have made of him, but I
remember only this
First School Brawl. In the afternoon of his first day in school, when the teacher
was having his siesta, Jose met the bully, Pedro. He was angry at this bully for making
fun of him during his conversation with the teacher in the morning Jose challenged
Pedro to a fight. The latter readily accepted, thinking that he could easily beat the
Calamba boy who was smaller and younger. The two boys wrestled furiously in the
classroom, much to the glee of their classmates. Jose, having learned the art of
wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, defeated the bigger boy for this feat, he became
popular among his classmates
After the class in the afternoon, a classmate named Andres Salandanan
challenged him to an arm wrestling match. They went to a sidewalk of a house and
wrestled with their arms Jose, having the weaker arm, lost and nearly cracked his head
on the sidewalk.
In succeeding days he had other fights with the boys of Biñan He was not
quarrelsome by nature, but he never ran away from a fight.
Painting Lessons in Bihan. Near the school was the house of an old painter,
called Juancho, who was the father-in-law of the school teacher. Jose. Lured by his love
for painting, spent many leisure hours at the painter’s studio Old Juancho freely gave
him lessons in drawing and painting. He was impressed by the artistic talent of the
Calamba lad.
Jose and his classmate, Jose Guevarra, who who loved painting, became
apprentices of the old painter. They improved their art, so that in due time they became
the favorite puinters of the class”.
Daily Life in Biñan. Jose led a methodical life in Biñan, almost Spartan in
simplicity. Such a life contributed much to his future development. It strengthened his
body and soul. Speaking of his daily life in Biñan, he recorded in his memoirs.
Here was my life I heard the four o’clock Mass, if there was any, or I studied my
lesson at that hour and I went to Mass afterwards. I returned home and I went to the
orchard to look for a mabolo to eat. Then I took breakfast, which consisted generally of
a dush of rice and two dried small fish, and I went to class from which I came out at ten
o’clock. I went home at once. If there was some special dish, Leandro and I took some
of it to the house of his children (which I never did at home nor would I ever do it), and I
returned without saying a word. I ate with them and afterwards I studied. I went to
school at two and came out at five. I prayed a short while with some nice cousins and I
returned home. I studied my lesson. I drew a little, and afterwards I took my supper
consisting of one or two dishes of rice with an ayungin. We prayed and if there was a
moon, my nieces invited me to play in the street together with others. Thank God that I
never got sick away from my parents.
Best Student in School. In academic studies, Jose beat all Biñan boys. He
surpassed them all in Spanish. Latin, and other subjects.
Some of his older classmates were jealous of his intellectual superiority. They
wickedly squealed to the teacher whenever Jose had a fight outside the school, and
even told lies to discredit him before the teacher’s eyes. Consequently the teacher had
so punish Jose. Thus Rizal said that “in spite of the reputation I had of being a good
boy, the day was unusual when I was not laid out on a bench and given five or six
blows.
End of Binan Schooling. Before the Christmas season in 1870, Jose received a
letter from his sister Saturnina, informing him of the arrival of the steamer Talim which
would take him from Biñan to Calamba. Upon reading the letter, he had a premonition
that he would not return to Biñan, so that he became sad. He prayed in the town church,
collected pebbles in the river for souvenirs, and regretfully bade farewell to his teacher
and classmates.
He left Binan on Saturday afternoon, December 17, 1870, after one year and a
half of schooling in that town. He was thrilled to take passage on the steamer Talim, for
it was the first time he ever rode on a steamer. On board was a Frenchman named
Arturo Camps, a friend of his father, who took care of him
Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za. On the night of January 20, 1872, about 200
Filipino soldiers and workmen of the Cavite arsenal under the leadership of Lamadrid.
Filipino sergeant, rose in violent mutiny because of the abolition of their usual privileges.
Including exemption from tribute and polo (forced labor) by the reactionary Governor
Rafael de Inquierdo. Unfortunately, this Cavite Mutiny was suppressed two days later by
troop reinforcements in Manila The Spanish authorities, in order to liquidate Fathers
Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, leaders of the secular movement to
Filipinize the Philippine parishes, and their supporters (Jose Ma. Bass, Attorneys
Joaquin Pardo de Tavera and Antonio Ma Regidor, etc.) magnified the failed mutiny into
a “revolt” for Philippine independence.
Accordingly, Gon-Bur-Za (Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora), despite the
archbishop’s plea for clemency because of their innocence, were executed at sunrise,
February 17, 1872, by order of Governur General Izquierdo. Their martyrdom was
deeply mourned by the Rizal family and many other patriotic families in the Philippines.
Paciano, enraged by the execution of Burgos, his beloved friend, teacher, and
housemate, quit his studies at the College of San Jose and returned to Calamba, where
he told the heroic story of largos to his younger brother Jose, who was then nearly
eleven years old.
The martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za in 1872 truly inspired Rizal to light the evils of
Spanish tyranny and redeem his oppressed people. Seventeen years later, in his letter
written in Paris, April 18, 1889, to Mariano Ponce, he .
Without 1872 there would not be now either a Plaridel or Jaena, or Sanciangco,
nor would thers exist brave and generous Filipino colonies in Europe: without 1872
Rizal would be a Jesuit now and, instead of writing Noli Me Tangere, would have written
the opposite. At the sight of those injustices and cruelties while still a child my imagina
tion was awakened and I swore to devote myself to avenge one day so many victims
and with this idea in mind I have been studying, and this can be read in all my works
and writings God will someday give me an opportunity to carry out my promise.
And later, in 1891, he dedicated his second novel. El Filibus terumo, to Gom-Bur-
Za.
Injustice to Hero’s Mother. Before June of 1872, tragedy struck the Rizal
family, Doña Teodora was suddenly arrested on a malicious charge that she and her
brother, Jose Alberto, tried to poison the latter’s perfidious wife. Jose Alberto, a rich
Biñan ilustrado, had just returned from a business trip in Europe. During his absence his
wife abandoned their home and children. When he arrived in Biñan, he found her living
with another man. Infuriated by her infidelity, he planned to divorce her. Dona Teodora,
to avert family scandal, persuaded him to forgive his wife. The family trouble was
amicably settled, and Jose Alberto lived again with his wife. However, the evil wife, with
the connivance of the Spanish lieutenant of the Guardia Civil, filed a case in court
accusing her husband and Doña Teodora of attempting to poison her.
This lieutenant happened to have an ax to grind against the Rizal family,
because at one time Don Francisco (Rizal’s father) refused to give him fodder for his
horse. Taking the opportunity to avenge himself, he arrested Doña Teodora, with the
help of Calamba’s gobernadorcillo, Antonio Vivencio del Rosario, a menial of the friars.
These two ungrateful men had been frequent guests at the Rizal home.
After arresting Doña Teodora, the sadistic Spanish lieutenant forced her to walk
from Calamba to Santa Cruz (capital of Laguna Province), a distance of 50 kilometers.
Upon arrival in Santa Cruz, she was incarcerated at the provincial prison, where she
languished for two years and a half until the Manila Royal Audiencia (Supreme Court)
acquitted her of the alleged crime.
Recounting this incidence of his mother’s imprisonment, Rizal said in his student
memoirs: “Our mother was unjustly snatched away from us and by whom? By some
men who had been our friends and whom we treated as honored guests. We learned
later that our mother got sick, far from us and at an advanced age. My mother was
defended by Messes Francisco de Marcaids and Manuel Marzan, the most famous
lawyers of Manila. She finally succeeded to be acquitted and vindicated in the eyes of
her judges, accusers, and even her enemies, but after how long? After two and a half
years.

Chapter 4: Scholastic Triumphs at Ateneo de Manila (1872-

1877)
Four months after the martyrdom of Gom-Bur Za and with Doña Teodora still in
prison, Jose, who had not yet celebrated his eleventh birthday, was sent to Manila. He
studied in the Ateneo Municipal, a college under the supervision of the Spanish Jesuits.
This college was a bitter rival of the Dominican-owned College of San Juan de Letran. It
was formerly the Escola Pia (Charity School) a school for poor boys in Manila which
was established by the city government in 1817. When the Jesuits who had been
expelled from the Philippines in 1768, returned to Manila in 1859, they were given the
management of the Escuela Pia, whose name was changed to Ateneo Municipal, and
later became the Ateneo de Manila. They were splendid educators, so that Ateneo
acquired prestige as an excellent college for boys
Rizal Enters the Ateneo. On June 10, 1872 Jose, accompanied by Paciano,
went to Manila. He took the entrance examinations on Christian doctrine, arithmetic,
and reading at the College San Juan de Letran, and passed them. He returned to
Calamba to stay a few days with his family and to attend the town fiesta His father, who
first wished him to study at Letran changed his mind and decided to send him to Ateneo
instead.
Thus, upon his return to Manda, Jose, again acompanied by Paciano,
matriculated at the Atenco Municipui At first, Father Magin Ferrando, who was the
college registrar refused to admit him for two reasons: (1) he was late for recitation and
(2) he was sickly and undersized for his age Rizal was then eleven years old. However,
upon the intercession of Manuel Xerez Burgos, nephew of Father Burgos, he was
reluctantly admitted at the Ateneo.
Jose was the first of his family to adopt the surname “Rizal. He registered under
this name at the Ateneo because their family name “Mercado” had come under the
suspicion of the Spanish authorities. Paciano had used “Mercado” as his surname at the
College of San Jose and he was known to the authorities us Father Burgos favorite
student and confidant.
At the time Jose studied in the Ateneo, this college was located in Intramuros,
within the walls of Manila. He first boarded in a house outside Intramuros, on Caraballo
Street, 25 minutes walk from the college. This boarding house was owned by a spinster
named Titay who owed the Rizal family the amount of P30 Jose boarded with her in
order to collect part of the debt.
Jesuit System of Education. The system of education given by the Jesuits in
the Ateneo was more advanced than that of other colleges in that period. It trained the
character of the student by rigid discipline and religious instruction. It promoted physical
culture, humanities, and scientific studies. Aside from academic courses leading to the
degree of Bachelor of Arts, it offered vocational courses in agriculture, commerce.
Mechanics, and surveying.
The students heard Mass in the morning before the beginning of the daily class
Classes in every subject were opened and closed with prayers.
Students were divided into two groups, namely the “Roman Empire” consisting of
the interns (boarders) and the Carthaginian Empire” composed of the externos (non-
boarders). Each of these empires had its ranks. The best student in each “empire” was
the emperor: the second best, the tribune; the third best. The decurion: the fourth best,
the centurion; and the fifth best, the standard-bearer. Within the empire”, the students
fought for positions. Any student could challenge any officer in his “empire” to answer
questions on the day’s lesson. His opponent could lose his position if he committed
three mistakes. Any student might be at the end of the line, but if he studied hard and
was brilliant, he could depose the officers one after another and become an emperor.
The two groups, “Roman Empire” and “Carthaginian Empire, were in constant
competition for supremacy in the class. They had their distinctive banners: red for the
Romans and blue for the Carthaginians. At the beginning of the school term, both
banners were used equally in the classroom. “Upon the first defeat the banner of the
losing party was transferred to the left side of the room. Upon the second, it was placed
in an inferior position on the right side. Upon the third, the inclined flag was placed on
the left. Upon the fourth, the flag was reversed and returned to the right. Upon the fifth,
the reversed flag was placed on the left. Upon the sixth, the banner was changed with a
figure of a donkey.
The Ateneo students in Rizal’s time wore a uniform which comisted of “hemp-
fabric trousers” and “striped cotton coat. The cost material was called ruyadillo, which
later became famous for it was adopted as the uniform for Filipino troops during the
days of the First Philippine Republic.
Rizal’s First Year in Ateneo (1872-73). On his first day of class in the Ateneo, in
June, 1872, Rizal first heard Mass at the college chapel and prayed fervently to God for
guidance and success. When the Mass was finished, he went to his class, where he
saw a great number of boys. Spaniards, mestizos and Filipinos.
Rizal’s first professor in the Ateneo was Fr. Jose Bech, whom he described as a
tall, thin man with a body slightly bent forward, a harried walk, an ascetic face, severe
and inspired, small deep-sunken eyes, a sharp nose that was almost Greek. And this
lips forming an arc whose ends fell toward the chin.
Being a newcomer and knowing little Spanish, Rizal was placed at the bottom of
the class. He was an externo, hence he was assigned to the Carthaginians, occupying
the end of the line.
After the first week, the frail Calamba boy progressed rapidly. At the end of the
month, he became emperor” He was the brightest pupil in the whole class, and he was
awarded a prize. “How pleased I was,” he said. “when I won my first prize, a religious
picture! He was proud of it because it was the first prize he ever won at the Ateneo.. To
improve his Spanish, Rizal took private lessons in Santa Isabel College during the noon
recesses, when other Ateneo students were playing or gossiping. He paid three pesos
for those extra Spanish lessons, but it was money well spent.
In the second half of his first year in the Ateneo, Rizal did not try hard enough to
retain his academic supremacy which he held during the first half of the term. This was
because he resented some remarks of his professor. He placed second at the end of
the year, although all his grades were still marked “Excellent”
Summer Vacation (1873). At the end of the school year in March, 1873, Rizal
returned to Calamba for summer vacation. He did not particularly enjoy his vacation
because his mother was in prison. To cheer him up, his sister Neneng (Saturnina)
brought him to Tanawan with her. This did not cure his melan choly. Without telling his
father, he went to Santa Cruz and visited his mother in prison. He told her of his brilliant
grades at the Ateneo. She gladly embraced her favorite son.
When the summer vacation ended, Rizal returned to Manila for his second year
term in the Ateneo. This time he boarded inside Intramuros at No. 6 Magalla Street. His
landlady was an old widow named Doña Pepay, who had a widowed daughter and four
sons.
Second Year in Ateneo (1873-74). Nothing unusual happened to Rizal during
his second term in the Ateneo, except that he repented having neglected his studies the
previous year simply because he was offended by the teacher’s remarks. So, to regain
his lost class leadership, he studied harder. Once more he became “emperor.
Some of his classmates were new. Among them were three boys from Binan,
who had been his classmates in the school of Maestro Justiniano, At the end of the
school year. Rizal received excellent grades in all subjects and gold medal With such
scholastic honors, he triumphantly returned to Calamba in March, 1874 for the summer
vacation.
Prophecy of Mother’s Release. Rizal lost no time in going to Santa Cruz in order
to visit his mother in the provincial jail. He cheered up Dona Teodora’s lonely heart with
of his scholastic triumphs in Ateneo and with funny tales about his professors and fellow
students. The mother was very happy to know that her favorite child was making such
splendid progress in college.
In the course of their conversation, Doña Teodora told her son of her dream the
previous night. Rizal, interpreting the dream, told her that she would be released from
prison in three month’s time. Doña Teodora smiled. Thinking that her son’s prophecy
was a mere boyish attempt to console her.
But Rizal’s prophecy became true. Barely three months passed, and suddenly
Doña Teodora was set free. By that time, Rizal was already in Manila attending his
classes at the Ateneo.
Doña Teodora, happily back in Calamba, was even more proud of her son Jose
whom she likened to the youthful Joseph in the Bible in his ability to interpret dreams.
Teenage Interest in Reading. It was during the summer vacation in 1874 in
Calamba when Rizal begin to take interest in reading romantic novels. As a normal
teenager, he became interested in love stories and romantic tales.
The first favorite novel of Rizal was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander
Dumas. This thrilling novel made a deep impression on him. His boyish imagination was
stirred by the sufferings of Edmond Dantes (the hero) in prison, his spectacular escape
from the dungeon of Chateau d’It, his finding a buried treasure on the rocky island of
Monte Cristo, and his dramatic revenge on his enemies who had wronged him.
Rizal read numerous other romantic novels with deep interest. The reading habit
helped to enrich his fecund mind. As a voracious reader, he read not only fiction, but
also non-fiction. He persuaded his father to buy him a costly set of Cesar Cantu’s
historical work entitled Universal History According to Rizal, this valuable work was of
great aid in his studies and enabled him to win more prizes in Ateneo Later Rizal read
Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor Jagor, a German scientist-traveler who visited
the Philippines in 1859-1860. What impressed him in this book were (1) Jagor’s keen
observations of the defects of Spanish colonization and (2)
His prophecy that someday Spain would lose the Philippines and that America
would come to succeed her as colonizer.
Third Year in Ateneo (1874-75). In June 1874, Rizal returned to the Ateneo for
his junior year. Shortly after the opening of classes, his mother arrived and joyously told
him that she was released from prison, just as he had predicted during his last visit to
her prison cell in Santa Cruz, Laguna. He was happy. Of course, to see his mother once
more a free woman.
However, despite the family happiness, Rizal did not make an excellent showing
in his studies as in the previous year. His grades remained excellent in all subjects, but
he won only one medal in Latin. He failed to win the medal in Spanish because his
spoken Spanish was not fluently sonorous. He was beaten by a Spaniard who,
naturally, could speak Spanish with fluency and with right accentuation.
At the end of the school year (March 1875), Rizal returned to Calamba for the
summer vacation. He himself was not impressed by his scholastic work.
Fourth Year in Ateneo (1875-76). After a refreshing and happy summer
vacation, Rizal went back to Manila for his fourth year course. On June 16, 1875, he
became an interno in the Ateneo. One of his professors this time was Fr. Francisco de
Paula Sanchez a great educator and scholar. He inspired the young Rizal to study
harder and to write poetry. He became an admirer and friend of the slender Calamba
lad, whose God given genius he saw and recognized. On his part, Rizal had the highest
affection and respect for Father Sanchez, whom he considered his best professor in the
AAteneo
In his student memoirs, Rizal wrote of Father Sanchez in glowing terms, showing
his affection and gratitude. He described this Jesust professor as “model of uprightness,
earnestness, and love for the advancement of his pupils”.
Inspired by Father Sanchez, Rizal resumed his studies with vigor and zest. He
topped all his classmates in all subjects and won five medals at the end of the school
term. He returned to Calamba for his summer vacation (March 1876) and proudly
offered his five medals and excellent ratings to his parents. He was extremely happy, for
he was able to repay his father somewhat for his sacrifices”.
Last Year in Ateneo (1876-77), After the summer vacation, Rizal returned to
Manila in June 1876 for his last year in the Ateneo, His studies continued to fate well.
As a matter of fact, he excelled in all subjects. The most brilliant Atenean of his time, he
was truly “the pride of the Jesuits.
Rizal finished his last year at the Ateneo in a blaze of glory. He obtained the
highest grades in all subjects-philosophy, physics, biology, chemistry, languages,
mineralogy, etc.
Graduation with Highest Honors, Rizal graduated at the head of his class. His
scholastic records at the Ateneo from 1872 to 1877 were as follows:

On Commencement Day, March 23, 1877, Rizal, who was 16 years old, received
from his Alma Mater, Ateneo Municipal. The degree of Bachelor of Arts, with highest
honors. It was a proud day for his family. But to Rizal, like all graduates,
Commencement Day was a time of bitter sweetness, a joy mellowed with poignancy.
The night before graduation, his last night at the college dormitory, he could not sleep.
Early the following morning, the day of graduation, he prayed fervently at the college
chapel and “commended my life,” as he said, “to the Virgin so that when I should step
into that world, which inspired me with.
So much terror, she would protect me” Extra-Curricular Activities in Ateneo,
Rizal, unsurpassed in academic triumphs, was not a mere bookworm. He was active in
extra-curricular activities. An “emperor” inside the classroom, he was a campus leader
outside. He was an active member, later secretary, of a religious society, the Marian
Congregation He was accepted as member of this sodality not only because of his
academic brilliance but also because of his devotion to Our Lady of the Immaculate
Conception, the college patroness Rizal was also a member of the Academy of Spanish
Literature and the Academy of Natural Sciences. These “academies” were exclusive
societies in the Ateneo, to which only Ateneans who were gifted in literature and
sciences could quality for member ship. In his leisure hours, Rizal cultivated his literary
talent under the guidance of Father Sanchez. Another professor, Father Jone Vilaclara,
advised him to stop communing with the Muses and pay more attention to more
practical studies, such as philosophy and natural sciences. Rizal did not heed his
advice. He continued to solicit Father Sanchez’s help in improving his poetry Aside from
writing poetry, he devoted his spare time to arts. He studied painting under the famous
Spanish painter Agustin Saez, and sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus, noted Filipino
sculptor. Both art masters honored him with their affee tion, for he was a talented pupil.
Furthermore, Rizal, to develop his weak body, engaged in gymnastics and
fencing. He thereby continued the physical train ing he began under his sports-minded
Tio Manuel
Sculptural Works in Ateneo. Rizal impressed his Jesuit pro fessors in the
Ateneo with his artistic skill. One day he carved I an image of The Virgin Mary on a
piece of baskuling (Philippine hardwood) with his pocket-knife. The Jesuit fathers were
amazed at the beauty and grace of the image.
Father Lleonart, impressed by Rizal’s sculptural talent, requested him to carve for
him an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Young Rizal complied, and within a few
days he presented it to Father Lleonart The old Jesuit was highly pleased and profusely
thanked the teenage sculptor. He intended to take the image with him to Spain, but,
being an absent-minded professor, he forgot to do so. The Atenco boarding students
placed it on the door of their dormitory, and there it remained for many years, reminding
all Ateneans of Dr. Rizal, the greatest alumnus of their Alma Mater. This image played a
significant part in Rizal’s last hours at Fort Santiago.
Anecdotes in Rizal, the Atenean. One of Rizal’s contemporaries in the Ateneo
was Felix M. Roxas He related an incident of Rizal’s schooldays in the Ateneo which
reveals the hero’s resignation to pain and forgiveness One day many Ateneans,
including Rizal, were studying their lessons at the study hall. Two Ateneans. Manzano
and Lesacs, quarreled and violently hurled books at each other Rizal, who was busy at
his desk poring over his lessons, was hit in the face by one of the thrown books. He did
not raise a cry of protest, although his wounded face was bleeding His classmates
brought him to the infirmary where he had to undergo medical treatment for several
days. After the incident, he continued to attend his classes feeling neither bitterness nor
rancor towards the guilty party.
Another anecdote on Rizal the Atenean was related by Manuel Xeres Burgos, in
whose house Rizal boarded shortly before he became an interno in the Ateneo. This
anecdote illustrates Rizal’s predilection to help the helpless at the risk of his own life.
One Thursday afternoon, being vacation day, the boys flew their kites from the azotea.
Young Rizal then was busy reading a Spanish book of fables at the window. After a
while he heard Julio Meliza from Iloilo, one of the smallest boarders, crying-because his
kite was caught by the vines growing on the belfry of the Manila cathedral which was
near the boarding house. The bigger boys were laughing, making fun of Julio’s
misfortune. Rizal closed the book he was reading and told Julio not to cry, for he would
try to retrieve the kite. True to his promise he courageously climbed the high cathedral
tower and successfully recovered the kite.
Poems Written in Ateneo. It was Doña Teodora who first discovered the
poetical genius of her son, and it was also she who first encouraged him to write poems.
However, it was Father Sanchez who inspired Rizal to make full use of his God-given
gift in poetry and improved the latter’s poetical art by opening his mind to the enriching
influence of the world’s literature.
The first poem Rizal probably wrote during his days in the Ateneo was Mi
Primera Inspiración (My First Inspiration) which was dedicated to his mother on her
birthday. It is said that he wrote it before he was 14 years old, that is, in the year 1874
Before this year he did not write poetry because there was gloom in his heart owing to
his mother’s imprisonment. Upon the release of his mother in 1874, his poetic heart
began to sing with catany anil joy.
In 15, inspired by Father Sanchez, he wrote more poems, as such
1. Ficcion (Felicitation)
2. Embarque: Himno a la Flota de Magallanes (The Departure Hymn to
Magellan’s Fleet)
3. Y es Espanol: Elcano, el Primero en dar la Vuelta al Mundo (And He in
Spanish Elcano, the First to Circum navigate the World)
4. El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror de Jole (The Battle Urbatedo, Teror of Jolo).

In 1876, Rizal wrote poems on various topics-religion, education, childhood

memories, and war. They were as follows:
1. Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town) Ander poem in honor of
Calamba, the here’s natal town.
2. Alianza Intima Entre la Religion y la acción (Intimate Alliance Between Religion
and Good Educa
3. Por la Educación Recibe Late la Puric (Though Education the Country Receives
Light)
4. El Cauveria y el Triunfo: Batalla de Lucena y Prision de Boabdil (The Captivity
and the Triumph: Battle of Lucena and the Imprisonment of Boabdil) This martial
poem describes the defeat and capture of Boabdil, lat Moorish sultan of
Granada.
5. La Entrada Triunfal de los Reyes Catolices en Granade (The Triumphal Entry of
the Catholic Monarchs into Granada). This poem relates the victorious entry of
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel into Granada, last Moorish stronghold in
Spain.
A year later, in 1877, he wrote more poems. It was his last year in the Ateneo.
Among the poems written that year were:
1. El Hervimo de Colón (The Heroism of Columbus) This poem praises
Columbus, the discoverer of America
2. Calon y Juan II (Columbus and John II). This poem relates how King John il
of Portugal missed fame and riches by his failure to finance the projected
expedition of Columbus to the New World.
3. Gran Consuelo en la Mayor Desdicha (Great Solace in Great Misfortune).
This is a legend in vene of the tragic life of Columbus)
4. Un Dialogo Alaivo a la Despedida de lor Colegiale (A Farewell Dialogue of the
Students). This was the last poem written by Rizal in Ateneo, it is a poignant
pom of farewell to his classmates
“My First Inspiration. It was most fitting that the first poem written by Rizal as an
Atenean should be about his beloved mother. In his poem, he felicitates his mother on
her hirthday, expressing his filial affection in sonorous verses. It runs as follows

MY FIRST INSPIRATION

Why do the scented bowers

In fragrant fray Rival each other’s flowers This festive day?
Why is sweet melody bruited In the sylvan dale, Harmony sweet and fluted Like the
nightingale?

Why do the birds sing so Is the tender grass,

Flitting from bough to bough With the winds that pass

And why does the crystal spring Run among the flowers While lullaby arphys sing Like
its crystal showers

I see the dawn in the East With beauty endowed Why goes she to a feast In a carmine
cloud
Sweet mother, they celebrate The rose with her scent innate, The bind with his lay

Your natal day

The murmurous spring this day Without alloy. Murmaring hids you always To live in joy

While the crystalline murmurs glisten. Hear you the accents strong

Struck from my lyre, To my love’s first song

Rizal’s Poems on Education. Although Rizal was merely a teenager, he had a

very high regard for education. He believed in the significant role which education plays
in the progress and welfare of a nation. Thus he stated in his poem

THROUGH EDUCATION OUR MOTHERLAND RECEIVES LIGHT

The vital breath of prudent Education Instilla a virtue of enchanting power

She lifts the motherland to highest station

And endless darating glories on her shower. And as the zephyr’s gentie chalation
Revives the matrix of the fragram flower, So education multiplies her gifts of grace:

With prudent hand imparts them to the human race

For her a mortal man will gladly part

With all he has will give his calm repose For her are born all sciences and all arm, That
brews of men with laurel fair endose. As from the towering mountain’s lofty heart. The
purest current of the streamlet flows. So education without stint ur measure gives
Security and peace to lands in which she lives

Where education reigns on lofty seat Youth blossoms forth with vigor and agility, His
error subjugates with solid feet. And is exalted by conceptions of nobility, She breaks
the neck of vice and its deceit Black crime tums pale at Her hostility, The harharous
nations She knows how to tamir, From savages create beroic fame.

And as the spring doth sustenance bestow On all the plants, on bushes in the mead. Its
placid plenty goes to overflow And endlessly with lavish love to fred The banks by which
it wanders, gliding slow. Supplying beauteous nature’s every need So he who prudent
Education eth procure The towering heights of honor vilt secure.

From out his lips the watercrystal pure, Of perfect virtue shall not cease to go. With
careful doctrines of his faith made sure, The powers of evil he will overthrow, Like
feaming waves that never long endure, But perish on the shore at every blow And from
his good example other men shall learn Their upward steps toward the heavenly paths
to turn

Within the breast of wretched humankind She lights the living flame of goodness bright
The hands of fiercest criminal doch bind And in these breasts will surely pour delight
Which seek her mystic benefits to find. Those souls She sets aflame with love of right.
That gives to life its surest consolation

And as the mighty rock aloft may tower Above the center of the stormy deep In scorn of
storm, or fieres Sou’wester’s power Or fury of the waves that raging sweep. Until, their
first mad hatred, spent, they cower And, tired at last sulmide and fall asleep, - So he
that takes wise Education by the hand, Invincible shall guide the reigns of motherland.

Che sapphires shall his service be engraved A thousand honors to him by his land be
granted For in their bosoms will his noble ons have saved Lunariant flowers his virtue
transplanted And by the love of goodness ever laved The lords and governors will see
implanted To endless days the Christian Education, Within their noble, faith enraptured
nation

And as in early morning we hehold The ruby sun pour forth resplendent rays, And lovely
dawn her scarlet and her gold, Her brilliant colors all about her sprays So skillful noble
Traching doth unfold To living minds the joy of virtuous ways She offers our dear
motherland the light That leads us to immortal glory’s height.

In another poem, The Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good Education,
Rizal showed the importance of religion in education. To him, education without God is
not true education. Thus, he said in his poem

THE INTIMATE ALLIANCE BETWEEN RELIGION AND GOOD EDUCATION

As the climbing ivy over lefty ab

Creeps tartuously, together the adornment

Of the verdant plain, embrilishing

Each other and together growing.

But should the kindly cim rehise in aid The ivy would impotent and friendless wither

So is Education to Religion

By spiritual alliance bound Through Religion, Education gaims own, and

Woe to the impious mind that blindly spurning

The sapient teachings of Religion, this Unpolluted fountain head forsakes

As the sprout, growing from the pompous vine. Proudly offers us its honeyed susters

While the generous and loving garment

Feeds in roots, so the fresh’ning waters Of celestial virtue give new life

To Education true, shedding

On it warmth and light, because of them The vine smells sweet and gives delicious fruit

Without Religion, Human Education

Is like unto venel struck by winds Which, sore beset, is of its helm deprived By the
roaring blows and buffets of the dread Tempestuous Boreas, who fiercely wields His
power until he proudly sends her down teto the deep abysses of the angered sea

As the heaven’s dew the meadow feeds and strengthens

So that blooming flowers all the earth

Embroider in the days of spring; so abso If Religion holy nourishes

Education with its doctrines, she

Shall walk in joy and generosity

Toward the Good, and everywhere bestrew The fragrant and lusuriant fruits of Virtue

Rizal’s Religious Poems. During his student days Rizal expressed his devotion to his
Catholic faith in melodious poetry. One of the religious poems he wrote was a brief ode
entitled Al Niño Jesu (To the Child Jesus). It is as follows:

TO THE CHILD JESUS

How, God-Child hast Thou come

To earth in cave forlorn

Does Fortune now deride Thee When Thou art scarcely born?

Ah, woe! Celestial King Who mortal from dost keep

Woulds’t rather than be Sovereign Be Shepherd of Thy Sheep?

This poem was written in 1875 when he was 14 years old. Another religious poem
which he wrote was entitled A La Virgen Maria (To the Virgin Mary). This poem is
undated, so that we do not know exactly when it was written. Probably. Rizal wrote it
after his ode to the Child Jesus. It runs as follows:

TO THE VIRGIN MARY

Dear Mary, giving comfort and sweet peace To all afflicted mortals, thou the spring
Whence Bows a current of relief, to bring Oh. List with pity as I weeful grieve Placid
Mary, thou my mother dear. My sustenance, my fortitude must be And in this fearsome
sea my way must steer If deprivation comes to buffet mr.

Our soil fertility that does not cease Upon thy throne, where thou dest reign on high

And spread thy radiant mantle to receive My voice which rises vwiftly to the sky

And if grim death in agony draws near Oh. Succor me, from anguish set me free

Dramatic Work in Ateneans. While Rizal was still a student at the Ateneo, his
favorite teacher, Father Sanchez, requested him to write a drama based on the prose
story of St Eustace the Martyr. During the summer vacation of 1876, he wrote the
requested religious drama in poetic verses at his home in Calamba and finished it on
June 2, 1876.
Upon the opening of classes at the Ateneo in June 1876 his last academic year
at the Jesuit college he submitted to o Father Sanchez the finished manuscript of the
drama entitled San Eustacio, Martir (St. Eustace, the Martyr). The good priest teacher
read it and felicitated the young Atenean for work well done.
First Romance of Rizal. Shortly after his graduation the Ateneo, Rizal, who was
then sixteen years old, experience his first romance that painful experience which
comes to nearly all adolescents” The girl was Segunda Katigbak fourteen-year old
Batangueña from Lipa. In Rizal’s “She was rather short, with eyes that were eloquent
and ardent at times and languid at others, rosy – cheeked with an enchanting and
provocative smile that revealed very beautiful the air of a sylph; her entire self diffused a
mysterious charm.
One Sunday Rizal visited his maternal grandmother lived in Troro, Manila He
was accompanied by ricod Mariano Katigbak. His old grandmother ‘was a friend
Katigbak family of Lipa. When he reached his grandmother house, he saw other guests.
One of whom was an attractive girl who mysteriously caused his heart to palpitate with
strange ecstasy. She was the sister of his friend Mariano, and her name was Segunda.
His grandmother’s guests, who were mostly college students. Knew of his skill in
painting, so that they urged him to draw Segunda’s portrait. He complied reluctantly and
made a penal sketch of her. “From time to time, he reminisced later she looked at me,
and I blushed.
Rizal came to know Segunda more intimately during he weekly visits to La
Concordia College, where his sister Olimpia was a boarding student. Olimpia was a
close friend of Segunda It was apparent that Rizal and Segunda loved each other. Their
was indeed “a love at first sight”. But it was hopeless since the very beginning because
Segunda was already engaged to be mar ried to her townmate, Manuel Luz. Rizal, for
all his artistic and intellectual prowess, was a shy and timid lover. Segunda had
manifested, by insinuation and deeds, her affection for him, but he timidly failed to
propose.
The last time they talked to each other was one Thursday in December, 1877
when the Christmas vacation was about to begin. He visited Segunda at La Concordia
College to say good bye because he was going home to Calamba the following day.
She, on her part, told him she was also going home one day later. She kept quiet after
her brief reply, waiting for him to say something which her heart was clamoring to hear.
But Rizal failed to come up to her expectation. He could only mumble: “Well,
good-bye. Anyway-I’ll see you when you pass Calamba on your way to Lipa”
The next day Rizal arrived by steamer in his hometown. His mother did not
recognize him at first, due to her failing eyesight. He was saddened to find out about his
mother’s growing blindness. His sisters gaily welcomed him, teasing him about
Segunda, for they knew of his romance through Olimpia.
That night he demonstrated his skill in fencing to his family. He had a friendly
fencing bout with the best fencer in Calamba and bested him.
The following day (Saturday) he learned that the steamer carrying Segunda and
her family would not anchor at Calamba because of the strong winds; it would stop in
Biñan. He saddled his white horse and waited at the road. A cavalcade of carromatas
from Bilan passed by. In one of whom was Segunda smiling and waving her
handkerchief at him. He doffed his hat and was tongue-tied to say anything. Her
carriage rolled on and vanished in the distance like “a swift shadow”. He returned home,
dazed and desolate, with his first romance “ruined by his own shyness and reserve”.
The first girl, whom he loved with ardent fervor. Was lost to him forever. She returned to
Lipa and later married Manuel Luz. He remained in Calamba, a frustrated lover,
cherishing nostalgic memories of a lost love.
Three years later, Rizal, recording his first and tragic romance, said: “Ended, at
an early hour, my first love! My virgin heart will always mourn the reckless step it took
on the flower-decked abyss. My illusions will return, yes, but indifferent, uncertain, ready
for the first betrayal on the path of love”
Chapter 5: Medical Studies at the University of Santo Tomas
(1877-1882)
Fortunately, Rizal’s tragic first romance, with its bitter dis illusionment, did not
adversely affect his studies in the University of Santo Tomas. After finishing the first
year of a course in Philosophy and Letters (1877-78), he transferred to the medical
course During the years of his medical studies in this university which was administered
by the Dominicans, rival educators of the Jesuits, he remained loyal to Ateneo, where
he continued to participate in extra-curricular activities and where he com pleted the
vocation course in surveying. As a Thomasian, he won more literary laurels, had other
romances with pretty girls, and fought against Spanish students who insulted the brown
Filipino students.
Mother’s Opposition to Higher Education. After graduating with the highest
honors from the Ateneo, Rizal had to go to the University of Santo Tomas for higher
studies. The Bachelor of Arts course during Spanish times was equivalent only to the
high school and junior college courses today. It merely qualified its graduate to enter a
university. Both Don Francisco and Paciano wanted Jose to pursue higher learning in
the university. But Doña Teodora, who knew what happened to Com-Bur-Za vigorously
opposed the idea and told her husband: “Don’t send him to Manila again; he knows
enough. If he gets to know more, the Spaniards will cut off his head.” Don Francisco
kept quiet and told Paciano to accompany his younger brother to Manila, despite their
mother’s tears.
Jose Rizal himself was surprised why his mother, who was a woman of
education and culture, should object to his desire for a university education. Years later
he wrote in his journal: “Did my mother perhaps have a foreboding of what would
happen to me? Does a mother’s heart really have a second sight?”
Rizal Enters the University, In April 1877, Rizal who was then nearly 16 years
old, matriculated in the University of Santo Tomas, taking the course on Philosophy and
Letters. He enrolled in this course for two reasons: (1) his father liked it and (2) he was
“still uncertain as to what career to pursue” He had written to Father Pablo Ramon,
Rector of the Ateneo, who had been good to him during his student days in that college,
asking for advice on the choice of a career. But the Father Rector was then in Mindanao
so that he was unable to advise Rizal. Con sequently, during his first-year term (1877-
78) in the University of Santo Tomas, Rizal studied Cosmology, Metaphysics, Thend
icy, and History of Philosophy.
It was during the following term (1878-79) that Rizal, having received the Ateneo
Rector’s advice to study medicine, took up the medical course, enrolling simultaneously
in the preparatory medical course and the regular first year medical course. Another
reason why he chose medicine for a career was to be able to cure his mother’s growing
blindness.
Finishes Surveying Course in Ateneo (1878). During his first school term in
the University of Santo Tomas (1877-78), Rizal also studied in the Ateneo. He took the
vocational course leading to the title of perito agrimensor (espert surveyor). In those
days. It should be remembered, the colleges for boys in Manila offered vocational
courses in agriculture. Commerce, mechanics, and surveying.
Rizal, as usual, excelled in all subjects in the surveying course in the Ateneo,
obtaining gold medals in agriculture and topography. At the age of 17, he praed the final
examination in the surveying course, but he could not be granted the title as surveyor
because he was below age. The title was issued to him on November 25, 1881.
Although Rizal was then a Thomasian, he frequently visited the Ateneo. It was
due not only to his surveying course, but more because of his loyalty to the Ateneo,
where he had so many beautiful memories and whose Jesuit professors, unlike the
Dominicans, loved him and inspired him to ascend to greater heights of knowledge. He
continued to participate actively in the Ateneo’s extra-curricular activities. He was
president of the Academy of Spanish Literature and secretary of the Academy of
Natural Sciences. He also continued his membership in the Marian Congregation, of
which he was the secretary.
Romances with Other Girls. Notwithstanding his academic studies in the
University of Santo Tomas and extra-curricular activities in the Ateneo, Rizal had ample
time for love. He was romantic dreamer who liked to sip the “nectar of love”. His sad
experience with his first love had made him wiser in the ways of romance.
Shortly after losing Segunda Katigbak, he paid court to a young woman in
Calamba. In his student memoirs, he called her simply “Miss L. describing her as “fair
with seductive and attractive eyes After visiting her in her house several times, he
suddenly stopped his wooing, and the romance died a natural death. Nobody today
knows who this woman was. Rizal himself did not give her name. Hence, her identity is
lost to history. However, he gave two reasons for his change of heart, namely: (1) the
sweet memory of Segunda was still fresh in his heart and (2) his father did not like the
family of “Miss L
Several months later, during his sophomore year at the University of Santo
Tomas, he boarded in the house of Doña Concha Leyva in Intramuros. The next-door
neighbors of Doda Concha were Capitan Juan and Capitana Sanday Valenzuela from
Pagsanjan, Laguna, who had a charming daughter numed Leonor. Rizal, the medical
anident from Calamba, was a welcome visitor in the Valenzuela home, where he was
the life of the social parties because of his clever sleight-of-hand tricks. He courted
Leonor Valenzuela, who was a tall girl with a regal bearing He sent her love notes
written in invisible ink. This ink consisted of common table salt and water. It left no trace
on the paper. Rizal, who knew his chemistry, taught Orang (pet name of Leonor
Valenzuela) the secret of reading any note written in the invisible ink by beating it over a
candle or lamp so that the

Words may appear. But, as with Segunda, be stopped short of proposing marriage to
Orang
Rizal’s nest romance was with another Leonor-Leonor Rivera-his cousin from Camiling
In 1879, at the start of his junior year at the university, he lived in “Casa Tomasina,” st
No. 6 Calle Santo Tomas, Intramuros. His landlord-undle. Antonio Rivers had a pretty
daughter, Leonor, a student at La Concordis College, where Soledad (Rizal’s youngest
sister) was then stu g Leonor, born in Camiling, Tarlac, on April 11. 186), was a mil,
pretty girl “tender as a budding flower with kindly, tful eyes”. Betwera Jose and Leonor
sprang a beautiful romance. They became engaged. In her letters to Rizal, Leonor
signed her name as amis, in order to camouflage their intimate relationship from their
parents and friends.

Victim of Spanish Officer’s Brutality. When Rizal was a freshman medical student at the
University of Santo Tomas, he experienced his first taste of Spanish brutality. One dark
night in Calamba, during the summer vacation in 1878, he was walking in the street. He
dimly perceived the figure of a man while passing him Not knowing the person due to
darkness, he did not salute nor say a courteous “Good Evening The vague figure turned
out to be a lieutenant of the Guardia Civil. With a snarl. He turned upon Rizal, whipped
out his sword and brutally slashed the latter on the back

The wound was not serious, but it was painful. When he recovered, Rizal reported the
incident to General Primo de Rivera, the Spanish governor general of the Philippines at
that time But nothing came out of his complaint, because he was an Indio and the
abusive lieutenant was a Spaniard. Later, in a letter to Blumentritt, dated March 21,
1887, he related “1 went to the Captain General but I could not obtain justice ny

“The Filipin Youth” (1879). In the year 1879 the Liceo Arios Lateratio (Artistic-Literary
Lyceum) of Manils, a soc sety of literary men and artists, held a literary contest. It
offered prize for the best poem by a native or a mestizo. Rizal, who was then eighteen
years old, submitted his poem entitled A La haventud Filipina (To the Filipino Youth).
The Board of Judges, composed of Spaniards, was impressed by Rizal’s poem and
gave it the first prize which consisted of a silver pen, feather-shaped and decorated with
a gold ribbon. Young Rizal was happy to win the poetry contest. He was sincerely
congratulated by the Jesuits, especially his former pro fessors at the Ateneo, and by his
friends and relatives.

The prize-winning poem. A La Juventud Filipina (To the Filipino Youth), is an inspiring
poem of flawless form. In exquis ite verses, Rizal beseeched the Filipino youth to rise
from lethargy, to let their genius fly swifter than the wind and descend with art and
science to break the chains that have long bound the spirit of the people. This poem is
as follows:

TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH

Theme “Grow, O Timid Flower

Hold high the brow serene, O youth, where now you stand

Let the bright sheen

Of your grace he seen, Fair hope of my fatherland!

Come now, thou genius grand, And bring down inspiration. With thy mighty hand.
Swifter than the winds volation, Raise the eager mind to higher station.

Come down with pleasing light Of art and science to the flight, O youth, and there untie
The chains that heavy lie, Your spirit free to bright

See how in flaming zone Amid the shadows thrown, The Spaniard’s holy hand A
crown’s splendent hand Proffers to this Indian land

Thou, who now woult rise On wings of rich emprise,

Seek from Olympian skies Songs of sweetest strain, Sotter than ambrosial rain.

Tho, whose volor divine Rivals Philemel’s refrain, And with varied line Through the night
benign Frees mortality from pain
Aou, who by sharp strife

Wskest thy mind to lif And the memory bright Of thy grous’s light Makeit immortal in its
strength

And thou, in accents dear Of Phoebus, to Apollos dear, Or by the brush’s magica
Takest from nature’s see a part To fix it on the simple canvas length.

Go forth, and then the sacred fire Of thy genius to the laurel may aspire To spread
around the flame,

And in victory acclaim, Through wider spheres the human name

Day, O happy day Fair Filipinas, for thy land

So blew the Power today That places in thy way This favor and this fortune grand.

This winning poem of Rizal is a classic in Philippine literature for two reasons: First, it
was the first great poem in Spanish written by a Filipino, whose merit was recognized by
Spanish literary authorities, and secondly, it expressed for the first time the nationalistic
concept that the Filipinos, and not the foreigners, were the “fair hope of the Fatherland”

The Council of the Gods” (1880). The following year (1880) the Artistic Literary Lyceum
opened another literary contest to commemorate the fourth centennial of the death of
Cervantes,
Spain’s glorified man-of-letters and famous author of Don Quix ete. This time the
contest was opened to both Filipinos and Spaniards
Many writers participated in the contest- priests, news papermen, scholars and
professors. Rizal, inspired by his poetical triumph the previous year, entered the literary
joust, submitting an allegorical drama entitled El Consejo de los Dioses (The Council of
the Gods)”

The judges of the contest were all Spaniards. After a long and critical appraisal of the
entries, they awarded the first prize to Rital’s work because of its literary superiority over
the others. The Spanish community in Manila, spear-headed by the Spanish press,
bowled in great indignation against the decision because the winning author was an
Indio. Despite all objections, the prize was awarded to Rizal, a gold ring on which was
engraved the best of Cervantes. A Spanish writer, D.N. del Puzo, won the second prize.
For the first time in history, an Indio-a aineteen-year old Filipino medical student at that
excelled in a national literary contest, defeating several Spanish writers of his time in
Manila” Rizal was particularly happy, for he proved the fallacy of the alleged Spanish
superiority over the Filipinos and revealed that the Filipino could hold his own in fair
compet ition against all races

The winning allegory of Rizal was a literary masterpiece based on the Greek classics. In
writing it, Rizal, although a student of the University of Santo Tomas, was aided by the
kind Father Rector of the Ateneo in securing the needed reference materials. The
allegory established a parallel among Homer. Virgil, and Cervantes. The gods discuss
the comparative merits of these great writers and finally decide to give the trumpet to
Homer, the lyre to Virgil, and the laurel to Cervantes. The allegory gloriously closes with
the naiads, nymphs, satyrs, and other mythological characters dancing and gathering
laurels for Cervantes

Other Literary Works. Aside froes the two prize-winning works mentioned above, Rizal,
although studying medicine, produced other poems and a zarniela, this zarzuela was
Junto al Pasig (Beside the Pasig), which was staged by the Atencans on December 8,
1880, on the occasion of the annual celebration

Of the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the Ateneo. He wrote it
as President of the Academy of Spanish Literature in the Ateneo.
As a piece of literature Junto al Pasig is mediocre. But. There are passages in it which
express in subtle satire the author’s nationalist ideas For instance, Rizal makes Satan
say that the

Philippines

“Now washut comfort

Sadly grount in the power of a foreign people

And slowly dies

In the impious clutch of Spain”

In the same year (1880), he wrote a sonet entitled A Filipinar for the album of the
Society of Sculptor. In this sonnect, he urged all Filipino artists to glorify the Philippines.
The year before, in 1879, he composed porm entitled

Abd-el-Aris y Mahoma, which was declaimed by an Atenean.

Manuel Fernandez, on the night of December 8, 1879 in honor

Of the Ateneo’s Patroness

Later, in 1881, be composed a poem entitled At M.R.P. Pablo Ramon. He wrote this
poem as an expression of affection to Father Pablo Ramon, the Ateneo rectur, who had
been so kind and helpful to him.

Rizal’s Visit to Pakil and Pagsanjun. In the summer month

Of May, 1881. When he was still a medical student at the University of Santo Tomas,
Rizal went on a pilgrimage to the town of Pakil, famous shrine of the Birhen Maria o los
Dolores He was accompanied by his sister Satumina, Maria, and Trinidad and their
female friends. They took a casco (flat-bottom sailing vessel) from Calamba to Pakil,
Laguna, and stayed at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Regalado, whose son Nicolas
was Rical’s friend in Manila.

Rizal and his companions were fascinated by the famous turumhu, the people dancing
in the streets during the procession in honor of the miraculous Birhen Maria de les
Dolores. As they danced, the dancers sang

Turumba, Term Matewa tayo’t masaya

Puri te Birhen Maria

In Pakil Rizal was infatuated by a pretty girl colegiala. Vicenta Yhurdolata, who skillfully
played the harp at the Regalado home. From Pakil. Rizal and his party made a side trip
to the neighboring town of Pagsanjan for two reasons it was the native town of Leonor
Valenzuela, one of Rizal’s girl friends in Manila, and to see the world famed Pagsanjan
Falls

Years later Rizal mentioned the Turumba in Chapter VI of Noli Me Tangere and
Pagsanjan Falls in his travel diary (United States Saturday, May 12, 1888), where he
said that Niagara Falls was the “greatest cascades I ever saw” but “not so beautiful nor
fine as the falls at Los Baños, (sic) Pagsanjan”.

Champion of Filipino Students. Rizal was the champion of the Filipino students in their
frequent fights against the arrogant Spanish students, who were oftest surpassed by the
Filipinos in dass work and who insultingly called their brown classmates “Indio, chongo!”
In retaliation, the Filipino students called them “Kastila, bangal” Hostility between these
two groups of students often exploded in angry street rumbles.
Rical participated in these student brawls. Owing to his skill in fencing, his prowess in
wrestling, and his indomitable courage, be distinguished himself in these student
skirmishes. In 1880 he founded a secret society of Filipino students in the University of
Santo Tomas called Compañerismo (Comradeship), whose members were called
“Companions of Jehu, after the valiant Hebrew general who fought the Armacans and
ruled the King dom of Israel for 28 years (843-816 B.C.). He was the chief of this secret
student society, with his cousin from Batangas, Galicano Apacible, as secretary, As
chief, be led the Filipino students into combat against the Spanish students in various
street fights.

In one of the fierce encounters between the Filipino students and their pale-skinned
detractors near the Escolta in Manila, Rizal was wounded on the head. His friends
brought him bleeding and covered with dust to his boarding house. “Casa Tomasina
Leonor Rivera tenderly wished and dressed his wound

Unhappy Days at the UST. Rizal, Ateneo’s boy wonder, found the atmosphere at the
University of Santo Tomas suffocat ing to his sensitive spirit. He was unhappy at this
Dominican institution of higher learning because (1) the Dominican profes sors were
hostile to him. (2) the Filipino students were racially discriminated against by the
Spaniards, and (3) the method of instruction was obsolete and repressive.

In his novel, El Filibusterismo, he described how the Filipino students were humiliated
and imahed by their Dominican pro fessors and how hackward the method of instruction
was, espe cially in the teaching of the natural sciences. He related in Chapter XIII, The
Class in Physics, that his sesence subject was taught without laboratory experiments.
The microscope and other laboratory apparatuses were kept imide the showcases to be
seen by visitors, but the students could not even touch them

Because of the unfriendly attitude of his profesnes, Rizal, the most brilliant graduate of
the Ateneo. Failed to win high scholastic bonors. Although his grades in the first year
philosophy course were all “excellent. They were not impressive in the four years of his
medical course. His scholastic records in the University of Santo Tomas (1879-82) wers
as follows

1877-78 (Philosophy & Letter)

Cosmology & Metaphysics

Theodicy

History of Philosophy

Physics

Excellen

Excellent

Excellend

Excellent

Good Gool

Good

1878-1879 (Medicine)-In Year

Chemistry Natural History

Anatomy 1
Dissection I

Anatomy 2

Dissection 2

Physiology

1879-1880 (Medicine) 2nd Yeat

Private Hygiene

Public Hygiene

Good

Good

Good Good
1880-1881 (Medicine)-3rd Year

General Pathology

Therapeutica

Surgery
Fair

Excellent

Good

1881-1882 (Medicine)-4th Year

Medical Pathology Surgical Pathology

Obstetrics

Very Good

Very Good

Very Good

Decision to Study Abroad. After finishing the fourth year of his medical course, Rizal
decided to study in Spain. He could no longer endure the rampant bigotry,
discrimination, and hos tility in the University of Santo Tomas. His older brother readily
approved his going to Spain and so did his two sisters Saturnina (Neneng) and Lucia,
Uncle Antonio Rivera, the Valenzuela family, and some friends.

For the first time. Rizal did not seek his parents’ permission and blessings to go abroad,
because he knew that they, especially his mother, would disapprove it. He did not bring
his beloved Leonor into his confidence either. He had enough common sense to know
that Leonor, being a woman, young and romantic at that, could not keep a secret. Thus
Rizal’s parents, Leonor, and the Spanish authorities knew nothing of his decision to go
abroad in order to finish his medical studies in Spain, where the profes sors were more
liberal than those of the University of Santo Tomas