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During Rizal's time in the 19th century, Asia, Europe and America were living in turmoil as the Industrial, French and American revolutions were all taking place. Each of these events affected the world and the social and political circumstances had a huge influence on Rizal himself.

Each revolution changed different aspects of the global environment and contributed towards the modernization of the world and the birth of many nation states.

• The Industrial Revolution

The invention of the steam engine triggered an economic revolution that ended with the use of machinery in the manufacturing process. The economy of Europe was changed from feudalism to capitalism, from an agricultural economy to one that relied on machinery and wage labor. This revolution affected the Philippines and throughout the 19th century there was a radical transformation in the region's economy. New cities and ports were built and foreign firms increased rapidly.

• The French Revolution

Rather than affect the economic landscape of the Philippines, the French Revolution affected the political tone of the 19th century. The revolution was a period of social and political upheaval and in France the governmental structure was transformed from monarchy to a democratic government based on the principles of citizenship. Spain was particularly affected by this revolution and suffered a century of turbulent political disturbances.

• The American Revolution

Unlike the economic effects of the Industrial Revolution and the political effects of the French Revolution, the American Revolution played a role on the democratic aspirations of the Filipino reformist that was led by Rizal in the 19th century. The political upheaval of the American Revolution led to North America overthrowing the British Empire and rejecting their monarchy.

These three major events of the 18th and 19th centuries had an effect on Rizal and his work. The turbulent environments encourage Rizal to become a strong political figure, something that would eventually lead to his execution.

Dr. Jose Rizal
JOSE RIZAL is also the national hero of the Philippines. He is dubbed as the pride of the Malayan race. He was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines and was the seventh child in a family of 11 children (2 boys and 9 girls).
At the age of 3, Jose Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while learning to read and write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his moldings of clay. He wrote a Tagalog poem at 8, “Sa Aking Mga Kabata".

In 1877, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an average of “excellent” from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila at the age of 16. The same year, he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, at the same time took courses leading to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished the course on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s examination on May 21, 1878. Because of his age, 17, he was not granted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881.

In 1878, he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas. On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of “excellent.”
Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22 languages: Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects. A genius, he was an architect, artists, businessman, cartoonist, educator, economist, ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist, nationalist, naturalist, novelist, ophthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and theologian.He was an expert swordsman and a good shot.
In the hope of securing political and social reforms for his country he was doing so while educating his countrymen, by publishing several works that bears enlightenment for the supressed.
In March 1887, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin; in 1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morga’s SUCCESSOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS with his annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of even long before the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil; on September 18, 1891, EL FILIBUSTERISMO, his second novel and a sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than the latter, was printed in Ghent. Because of his fearless exposures of the injustices committed by the civil and clerical officials, Rizal provoked the animosity of those in power. This led himself, his relatives and countrymen into trouble with the Spanish officials of the country. As a consequence, he and those who had contacts with him, were shadowed; the authorities were not only finding faults but even fabricating charges against him. He was imprisoned in Fort Santiago from July 6, 1892 to July 15, 1892 on a charge that anti-friar pamphlets were found in the luggage of his sister Lucia who arrive with him from Hong Kong.
While a political exile in Dapitan, he engaged in agriculture, fishing and business; he maintained and operated a hospital; he conducted classes and taught his pupils English, Spanish languages and the Arts. He entered into correspondence with renowned men of letters and sciences abroad. His sincerity and friendliness won for him the trust and confidence of those assigned to guard him; his intelligence and humility gained for him the respect and admiration of prominent men of other nations; his courage and determination to uplift the welfare of his people were feared by his enemies.
When the Philippine Revolution started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time and enlisted witnesses that linked him with the revolt and these were never allowed to be confronted by him. On November 3, 1896, to the date of his execution, he was committed to prison in Fort Santiago.
In his prison cell, he wrote an untitled poem, now known as “Ultimo Adios” . It is is considered a masterpiece and a living document which expressed his love of country and his countrymen.

He was convicted of rebellion after the trial, sedition and of forming illegal association. In the cold morning of December 30, 1896, he was shot at Bagumbayan Field.
Since then, Dr. Jose Rizal's death was the beginning of the new Philippine history.

His Family
The Mercado - Rizal Family
The Rizals is considered one of the biggest families during their time. Domingo Lam-co, the family’s paternal ascendant was a full-blooded Chinese who came to the Philippines from Amoy, China in the closing years of the 17th century and married a Chinese half-breed by the name of Ines de la Rosa.
Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese, Spanish, Malay and Even Negrito blood aside from Chinese.
Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.
FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)
Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and Cirila Mercado. Born in Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died in Manila.
TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)
Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman, courteous, religious, hard-working and well-read. She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in 1913 in Manila.
SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.
PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila; became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.
NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)
The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician.
OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)
The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.
LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.
MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on December 30,1896.
CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)
The eight child. Died at the age of three.
JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)
The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.
TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)
The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.

Early Childhood

In Calamba, Laguna
19 June 1861
JOSE RIZAL, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was born in Calamba, Laguna.
22 June 1861
He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casaas as the sponsor.
28 September 1862
The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book in which Rizal's baptismal records were entered, were burned.
1864
Barely three years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother.
1865
When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the age of three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first time.
1865-1867
During this time his mother taught him how to read and write. His father hired a classmate by the name of Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the rudiments of Latin.
At about this time two of his mother's cousin frequented Calamba. Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development of his young nephew and taught the latter love for the open air and developed in him a great admiration for the beauty of nature, while Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the boy love for education. He advised Rizal: “Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift as well as thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything.”
6 June 1868
With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his mother to take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery which nearly caused his mother's life.
From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who was at the time studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.
1869
At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled “Sa Aking Mga Kabata.” The poem was written in tagalog and had for its theme “Love of One's Language.”

Education

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 illustrado 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 tedious 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. 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 prayers. “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 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 ABC's 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 Leon 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 lived long. He died five months later.
After a Monroy's death, the hero's parents decided to send their gifted son to a private school in Biñan.
Jose Goes to Biñan

One Sunday afternoon in June , 1869, Jose, after kissing the hands of his parents and a tearful parting from his sister, 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 me was Calamba, my own town, in spite of the fact that was not as wealthy as Biñan.”
First Day in Biñan 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 a 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 noises and begun the lessons of the day.
Jose described his teacher in Biñan as follows: “He was tall, thin, long-necked, with 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 the heart the grammars by Nebrija and Gainza. Add to this 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 BrawlIn 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.
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 to punish Jose.
Early Schooling in Biñan

Jose had a very vivid imagination and a very keen sense of observation. At the age of seven he traveled with his father for the first time to Manila and thence to Antipolo to fulfill the promise of a pilgrimage made by his mother at the time of his birth. They embarked in a casco, a very ponderous vessel commonly used in the Philippines. It was the first trip on the lake that Jose could recollect. As darkness fell he spent the hours by the katig, admiring the grandeur of the water and the stillness of the night, although he was seized with a superstitious fear when he saw a water snake entwine itself around the bamboo beams of the katig. With what joy did he see the sun at the daybreak as its luminous rays shone upon the glistening surface of the wide lake, producing a brilliant effect! With what joy did he talk to his father, for he had not uttered a word during the night!
When they proceeded to Antipolo, he experienced the sweetest emotions upon seeing the gay banks of the Pasig and the towns of Cainta and Taytay. In Antipolo he prayed, kneeling before the image of the Virgin of Peace and Good Voyage, of whom he would later sing in elegant verses. Then he saw Manila, the great metropolis , with its Chinese sores and European bazaars. And visited his elder sister, Saturnina, in Santa Ana, who was a boarding student in the Concordia College.
When he was nine years old, his father sent him to Biñan to continue studying Latin, because his first teacher had died. His brother Paciano took him to Biñan one Sunday, and Jose bade his parents and sisters good-bye with tears in his eyes. Oh, how it saddened him to leave for the first time and live far from his home and his family! But he felt ashamed to cry and had to conceal his tears and sentiments. “O Shame,” he explained, “how many beautiful and pathetic scenes the world would witness without thee!”
They arrived at Biñan in the evening. His brother took him to the house of his aunt where he was to stay, and left him after introducing him to the teacher. At night, in company with his aunt's grandson named Leandro, Jose took a walk around the town in the light of the moon. To him the town looked extensive and rich but sad and ugly.
His teacher in Biñan was a severe disciplinarian. His name was Justiniano Aquino Cruz. “He was a tall man, lean and long-necked, with a sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward. He used to wear a sinamay shirt woven by the deft hands of Batangas women. He knew by memory the grammars of Nebrija and Gainza. To this add a severity which, in my judgement I have made of him, which is all I remember.”
The boy Jose distinguished himself in class, and succeeded in surpassing many of his older classmates. Some of these were so wicked that, even without reason, they accused him before the teacher, for which, in spite of his progress, he received many whippings and strokes from the ferule. Rare was the day when he was not stretched on the bench for a whipping or punished with five or six blows on the open palm. Jose's reaction to all these punishments was one of intense resentment in order to learn and thus carry out his father's will.
Jose spent his leisure hours with Justiniano's father-in-law, a master painter. From him he took his first two sons, two nephews, and a grandson. His way life was methodical and well regulated. He heard mass at four if there was one that early, or studied his lesson at that hour and went to mass after wards. Returning home, he might look in the orchard for a mambolo fruit to eat, then he took his breakfast, consisting generally of a plate of rice and two dried sardines.
After that he would go to class, from which he was dismissed at ten, then home again. He ate with his aunt and then began at ten, then home again. He ate with his aunt and then began to study. At half past two he returned to class and left at five. He might play for a short time with some cousins before returning home. He studied his lessons, drew for a while, and then prayed and if there was a moon, his friends would invite him to play in the street in company with other boys.
Whenever he remembered his town, he thought with tears in his eyes of his beloved father, his idolized mother, and his solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet was his town even though not so opulent as Biñan! He grew sad and thoughtful.
While he was studying in Biñan, he returned to his hometown now and then. How long the road seemed to him in going and how short in coming! When from afar he descried the roof of his house, secret joy filled his breast. How he looked for pretexts to remain longer at home! A day more seemed to him a day spent in heaven, and how he wept, though silently and secretly, when he saw the calesa that was flower that him Biñan! Then everything looked sad; a flower that he touched, a stone that attracted his attention he gathered, fearful that he might not see it again upon his return. It was a sad but delicate and quite pain that possessed him.

Philosophies in Life

PHILOSOPHY may be defined as the study and pursuit of facts which deal with the ultimate reality or causes of things as they affect life.
The philosophy of a country like the Philippines is made up of the intricate and composite interrelationship of the life histories of its people; in other word, the philosophy of our nation would be strange and undefinable if we do not delve into the past tied up with the notable life experiences of the representative personalities of our nation.
Being one of the prominent representatives of Filipino personalities, Jose Rizal is a fit subject whose life philosophy deserves to be recognized.
Having been a victim of Spanish brutality early in his life in Calamba, Rizal had thus already formed the nucleus of an unfavorable opinion of Castillian imperialistic administration of his country and people.
Pitiful social conditions existed in the Philippines as late as three centuries after his conquest in Spain, with agriculture, commerce, communications and education languishing under its most backward state. It was because of this social malady that social evils like inferiority complex, cowardice, timidity and false pride pervaded nationally and contributed to the decay of social life. This stimulated and shaped Rizal's life philosophy to be to contain if not eliminate these social ills.
Educational Philosophy
Rizal's concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in his work entitled Instruction wherein he sought improvements in the schools and in the methods of teaching. He maintained that the backwardness of his country during the Spanish ear was not due to the Filipinos' indifference, apathy or indolence as claimed by the rulers, but to the neglect of the Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal, the mission of education is to elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the people's mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress, Rizal claimed that only through education could the country be saved from domination.
Rizal's philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of proper motivation in order to bolster the great social forces that make education a success, to create in the youth an innate desire to cultivate his intelligence and give him life eternal.
Religious Philosophy
Rizal grew up nurtured by a closely-knit Catholic family, was educated in the foremost Catholic schools of the period in the elementary, secondary and college levels; logically, therefore, he should have been a propagator of strictly Catholic traditions. However, in later life, he developed a life philosophy of a different nature, a philosophy of a different Catholic practice intermingled with the use of Truth and Reason.
Why the change?
It could have been the result of contemporary contact, companionship, observation, research and the possession of an independent spirit.Being a critical observer, a profound thinker and a zealous reformer, Rizal did not agree with the prevailing Christian propagation of the Faith by fire and sword. This is shown in his Annotation of Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.
Rizal did not believe in the Catholic dogma that salvation was only for Catholics and that outside Christianity, salvation was not possible even if Catholics composed only a small minority of the world's religious groups. Nor did he believe in the Catholic observation of fasting as a sacrifice, nor in the sale of such religious items as the cross, medals, rosaries and the like in order to propagate the Faith and raise church funds. He also lambasted the superstitious beliefs propagated by the priests in the church and in the schools. All of these and a lot more are evidences of Rizal's religious philosophy.
Political Philosophy
In Rizal's political view, a conquered country like the Philippines should not be taken advantage of but rather should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in the science of self-government.
He bitterly assailed and criticized in publications the apparent backwardness of the Spanish ruler's method of governing the country which resulted in:
1. the bondage and slavery of the conquered ;
2. the Spanish governments' requirement of forced labor and force military service upon the n natives;
3. the abuse of power by means of exploitation;
4. the government ruling that any complaint against the authorities was criminal; and
5. Making the people ignorant, destitute and fanatic, thus discouraging the formation of a national sentiment.
Rizal's guiding political philosophy proved to be the study and application of reforms, the extension of human rights, the training for self government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self love.
Ethical Philosophy
The study of human behavior as to whether it is good or bad or whether it is right or wrong is that science upon which Rizal's ethical philosophy was based. The fact that the Philippines was under Spanish domination during Rizal's time led him to subordinate his philosophy to moral problems. This trend was much more needed at that time because the Spaniards and the Filipinos had different and sometimes conflicting morals. The moral status of the Philippines during this period was one with a lack of freedom, one with predominance of foreign masters, one with an imposition of foreign religious worship, devotion, homage and racial habits. This led to moral confusion among the people, what with justice being stifled, limited or curtailed and the people not enjoying any individual rights.
To bolster his ethical philosophy, Dr. Rizal had recognized not only the forces of good and evil, but also the tendencies towards good and evil. As a result, he made use of the practical method of appealing to the better nature of the conquerors and of offering useful methods of solving the moral problems of the conquered.
To support his ethical philosophy in life, Rizal:
1. censured the friars for abusing the advantage of their position as spiritual leaders and the ignorance and fanaticism of the natives;
2. counseled the Filipinos not to resent a defect attributed to them but to accept same as reasonable and just;
3. advised the masses that the object of marriage was the happiness and love of the couple and not financial gain;
4. censured the priests who preached greed and wrong morality; and
5. advised every one that love and respect for parents must be strictly observed.
Social Philosophy
That body of knowledge relating to society including the wisdom which man’s experience in society has taught him is social philosophy. The facts dealt with are principles involved in nation building and not individual social problems. The subject matter of this social philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the people’s social knowledge.
Rizal's social philosophy dealt with;
1. man in society;
2. influential factors in human life;
3. racial problems;
4. social constant;
5. social justice;
6. social ideal;
7. poverty and wealth;
8. reforms;
9. youth and greatness;
10. history and progress;
11. future Philippines.
The above dealt with man's evolution and his environment, explaining for the most part human behavior and capacities like his will to live; his desire to possess happiness; the change of his mentality; the role of virtuous women in the guidance of great men; the need for elevating and inspiring mission; the duties and dictates of man's conscience; man's need of practicing gratitude; the necessity for consulting reliable people; his need for experience; his ability to deny; the importance of deliberation; the voluntary offer of man's abilities and possibilities; the ability to think, aspire and strive to rise; and the proper use of hearth, brain and spirit-all of these combining to enhance the intricacies, beauty and values of human nature. All of the above served as Rizal's guide in his continuous effort to make over his beloved Philippines. Personality

The Many-Sided Personality
Filipinos and foreigners alike have paid tribute to Jose Rizal claiming that his place of honor in history is secure. It was his Austrian bosom friend, Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt, rector of the Imperial Atheneum of Leitmeritz, who said “Rizal was the greatest product of the Philippines and his coming to the world was like the appearance of a rare comet, whose rare brilliance appears only every other century.” Another German friend, Dr. Adolf B. Meyer, director of the Dresden Museum who admired his all around knowledge and ability, remarked “Rizal’s many-sidedness was stupendous.” Our own Dr. Camilo Osias pointed to him as the “versatile genius.”
His precocity since early boyhood turned into versatility in later years. Being curious and inquisitive, he developed a rare facility of mastering varied subjects and occupations.
Actor
Rizal acted as a character in one of Juan Luna’s paintings and acted in school dramas.
Agriculturist
Rizal had farms in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte (1892-1896) where he planted lanzones, coconuts and other fruit-bearing trees.
Ambassador Of Good Will
His friendliness, goodwill and cultural associations with friends entitled him as one.
Animal Lover
As a small boy, Rizal loved animals including birds, fish, insects, and other specimens of animal life. Fowls, rabbits, dogs, horses, and cats constituted his favorites. As much as possible, he did not wish fowls to be killed even for food, and showed displeasure in being asked to eat the cooked animal. The family garden in Calamba abounded with insects galore and birds native to the Calamba environs. He wrote about and sketched animals of the places he had toured.
Anthropologist
He made researches on the physical and social make up of man.
Archeologist
Rizal studied monuments and antique currency everywhere he went. He drew most of the monuments he saw.
Ascetic
Rizal always practiced self-discipline wherever he went.
Book lover
He had a big library and brought many books abroad.

Botanist
Rizal maintained a garden in Dapitan where he planted and experimented on plants of all kinds
Businessman
He had a partner in Dapitan in the Abaca business there (1892-1896).
Cartographer
He drew maps of Dapitan, The Philippines and other places he visited.
Chess Player
He played chess and bear several Germans and European friends and acquaintances.
Citizen of the world
His extensive travels and multitude of friends in Europe, Middle East and Asia made him one.
Commentator
Rizal always expresses and published his personal opinion.
Conchologist
He had a good shell collection in Dapitan. An American conchologist praised him.
Educator
Rizal taught in his special school in Dapitan.
Ethnologist
In his travels, Rizal was able to compare different races and he noted the differences.
Father of community school
He proposed college in Hong Kong and his special school in Dapitan made him a father of community schools.
Fencer
He fenced with Europeans and Juan Luna and other friends in Europe.
Freemason abroad
He was member of La Solidaridad Lodge in Spain.
Horticulture and farmer
He experimented on and cultivated plants in Dapitan.
Historian
His annotation of Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas entitled him as one.
Humorist
There are many humorous incidents in the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
Ichthyologist
He collected 38 new varieties of fish in Dapitan.
Japanophile
His admiration of Japanese traits and his knowledge of her language proved he was one.
Journalist
He authored the published many articles in Spanish and English and London.
Laboratory worker
He was employed in the clinic of Dr. L. Wecker in Paris.
Linguist
He spoke over 20 foreign languages.
Lover of truth
He chided Spanish writers for not writing the truth about the Filipinos. He was always truthful since boyhood.
Musicians
He played the flute and composed pieces of music and cultivated music appreciation.
Mythologist
Rizal used mythology in his Noli and Fili.
Nationalist
He gave full expression of the native spirit strengthened by world civilization and loved and defended everything Filipino.
Newspaperman
He wrote and published articles in many publications and was one of the organizers of the La Solidaridad.
Ophthalmologist
He graduated in an ophthalmologic college in Spain.
Orientalist
Rizal admired the special characteristic and beauties of Oriental countries peoples.
Pharmacologist
Rizal treasured and popularized the usefulness and preparation of cures for treatment of his patients.
Philologist
Rizal loved of learning and literature is unequalled.
Philosopher
Rizal not only loved wisdom but also regulated his life and enjoyed calmness of the life at all time
Physical culturist
Rizal maintained a good health by exercising all parts of his body and eating proper foods
Physicians
He treated several patients afflicted not only with eye diseases.
Plant lover
As a child, Rizal spend most of his time in the family garden which was planted with fruit trees,
Shrubs and decorative trees. His diaries contained detailed description and sketches of plants, flowers and fruits he saw in the places he visited. He wrote poems on flower he like very much as his poems To the Flowers of Heidelberg.
Poet
Rizal wrote over 35 poems including his famous Ultimo Adios.
Politician
Although Rizal did not engage in Politics, he exposed the evils of the political activities of the Spaniards in the Philippines through his writing.
Polyglot
Rizal spoke and wrote in 20 languages.
Proofreader
In Germany, He worked as a part-time proofreader of his livelihood.
Propagandist
As a reformer, Rizal encourages the recommendation of improving the government entities and discourage abuses publishing articles.
Public relation man
He worked for better cooperation of rulers and subjects in his country.
Reformer
He published the modern methods of government administration, so changes could be made.
Researcher
Being a wide reader, he compared the old and new practices in life.
Revolutionist
Rizal encouraged reforms, discouraged old, impractical usage, and desired new and useful laws to benefit his countrymen. He desired changes for the better.
Rhetorician
Rizal has always practiced the art of persuasive and impressive speaking and writing.
Rural reconstruction worker
He practiced rural reconstruction work in Dapitan in 1894 and succeeded.
Sanitary engineer
His construction of a water system in Dapitan exemplified this practice by Rizal.
Scientist
Rizals practice of many sciences here and abroad made him noted scientist.
Sculptor
His works of his father and of Father Guerrico, S. J. typified his sculptural ability.
Sharp shooter
He could hit a target 20 meters away.
Sinologist
Rizals ancestry and his ability to speak Chinese made him one.
Sociologist
In Rizals study of Philippines social problems, he always encouraged and introduced solutions.
Sodalist
He always joined fraternities, associations and brotherhood, for self-improvement.
Sportsman
He engaged from a surveying class at the Ateneo after passing his A. B. there.
Tourist
He was considered the foremost tourist due to his extensive travels.
Traveler
He traveled around the world three times.
Tuberculosis expert
For having cured himself of this disease, he became and was recognized as an expert.
Youth leader
He considered the youth as “the hope of his Fatherland.”
Zoologist
He was fond of pets. He researched later on their physiology, classification and habits. Travels
Rizal’s First Trip Abroad
3 May 1882
Rizal left Philippines for the first time Spain. He boarded the Salvadora using a passport of Jose Mercado, which was procured for him by his uncle Antonio Rivera, father of Leonor Rivera. He was accompanied to the quay where the Salvadora was moored by his uncle Antonio, Vicente Gella, and Mateo Evangelista.
4 May 1882
He got seasick on board the boat.
5 May1882
He conversed with the passengers of the ship; he was still feeling sea-sick.
6 May 1882
He played chess with the passengers on board.
8 May 1882
He saw mountains and Islands.
9 May 1882
Rizal arrived at Singapore.
10 May 1882
He went around the town of Singapore and maid some observations.
11 May 1882
In Singapore, at 2 p.m., Rizal boarded the boat Djemnah to continue his trip to Spain. He found the boat clean and well kept.
12 May 1882
He had a conversation with the passengers of the boat.
13 May 1882
Rizal was seasick again.
14 May 1882
On his way to Marseilles, Rizal had a terrible dream. He dreamed he was traveling with Neneng (Saturnina) and their path was blocked by snakes.
May 15 1882
Rizal had another disheartening dream. He dreamed he returned to Calamba and after meeting his parents who did not talk to him because of not having consulted them about his first trip abroad, he returned traveling abroad with one hundred pesos he again borrowed. He was so sad and broken hearted. Soon he woke up and found himself inside his cabin.
17 May 1882
Rizal arrived at Punta de Gales.
18 May 1882
At 7:30 a.m., he left Punta de Gales for Colombo. In the afternoon, Rizal arrived at Colombo and in the evening the trip was resumed.
26 May 1882
Rizal was nearing the African coast
27 May 1882
He landed at Aden at about 8:30 a.m. He made observation at the time.
2 June 1882
He arrived at the Suez Canal en route to Marseilles.
3 June 1882
He was quarantined on board the Djemnah in the Suez Canal.
6 June 1882
It was the fourth day at Suez Canal and was still quarantined on board of the boat.
7 June 1882
Rizal arrived at Port Said. In a letter to his parents, He described his trip en route to Aden along the Suez Canal.
11 June 1882
Rizal disembarked and, accompanied by a guide, went around the City of Naples for one hour. This was the first European ground he set foot on.
12 June 1882
At ten oclock in the evening, the boat anchored at Marseilles. He sleptn board.
13 June 1882
Early on the morning he landed at Marseilles and boarded at the Noalles Hotel. Later he around for observation.
14 June 1882
His second in Marseilles.
15 June 1882
He left Marseilles for Barcelona in an express train. Lovelife
Rizal, the Romantic
There were at least nine women linked with Rizal; namely Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortiga, O-Sei San, Gertrude Beckette, Nelly Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby and Josephine Bracken. These women might have been beguiled by his intelligence, charm and wit.
Segunda Katigbak and Leonor Valenzuela
Segunda Katigbak was her puppy love. Unfortunately, his first love was engaged to be married to a town mate- Manuel Luz. After his admiration for a short girl in the person of Segunda, then came Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan. Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink, that could only be deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her on the eve of his departure to Spain and bade her a last goodbye. Leonor Rivera
Leonor Rivera, his sweetheart for 11 years played the greatest influence in keeping him from falling in love with other women during his travel. Unfortunately, Leonors mother disapproved of her daughters relationship with Rizal, who was then a known filibustero. She hid from Leonor all letters sent to her sweetheart. Leonor believing that Rizal had already forgotten her, sadly consented her to marry the Englishman Henry Kipping, her mothers choice.
Consuelo Ortiga
Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortigas daughters, fell in love with him. He dedicated to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of his best poems. The Ortiga’s residence in Madrid was frequented by Rizal and his compatriots. He probably fell in love with her and Consuelo apparently asked him for romantic verses. He suddenly backed out before the relationship turned into a serious romance, because he wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not want to destroy hid friendship with Eduardo de Lete who was madly in love with Consuelo. O Sei San
O Sei San, a Japanese samurais daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art of painting known as su-mie. She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese language. If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would have married this lovely and intelligent woman and lived a stable and happy life with her in Japan because Spanish legation there offered him a lucrative job. Gertrude Beckett
While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, he boarded in the house of the Beckett family, within walking distance of the British Museum. Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl was the oldest of the three Beckett daughters. She fell in love with Rizal. Tottie helped him in his painting and sculpture. But Rizal suddenly left London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him. Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the Beckett sisters. He gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their brief relationship.
Nellie Boustead
Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of courting other ladies. While a guest of the Boustead family at their residence in the resort city of Biarritz, he had befriended the two pretty daughters of his host, Eduardo Boustead. Rizal used to fence with the sisters at the studio of Juan Luna. Antonio Luna, Juan’s brother and also a frequent visitor of the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she was deeply infatuated with Rizal. In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavory remarks against Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. Fortunately, Luna apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots.
Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage. It failed because Rizal refused to be converted to the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and Nellie’s mother did not like a physician without enough paying clientele to be a son-in-law. The lovers, however, parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.
Suzanne Jacoby
In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris. In Brussels, he lived in the boarding house of the two Jacoby sisters. In time, they fell deeply in love with each other. Suzanne cried when Rizal left Brussels and wrote him when he was in Madrid.
Josephine Bracken
In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal met an 18-year old petite Irish girl, with bold blue eyes, brown hair and a happy disposition. She was Josephine Bracken, the adopted daughter of George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizal for eye treatment. Rizal was physically attracted to her. His loneliness and boredom must have taken the measure of him and what could be a better diversion that to fall in love again. But the Rizal sisters suspected Josephine as an agent of the friars and they considered her as a threat to Rizal’s security.
Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a decision due to her responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since Taufers blindness was untreatable, he left for Hon Kong on March 1895. Josephine stayed with Rizals family in Manila. Upon her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for their marriage. However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying them. Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took her as his wife even without the Church blessings. Josephine later give birth prematurely to a stillborn baby, a result of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened her. Noli Me Tangere
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Social Cancer, by Jose Rizal. Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission. Please read the “legal small print,” and other information about the eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. **Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** **eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** *****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** Title: The Social Cancer, Author: Jose Rizal, Release Date: October, 2004 [EBook #6737] Edition: 10, Language: English, Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 Produced by Jeroen Hellingman
Noli Me Tangere - A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere from the Spanish of José Rizal By Charles Derbyshire, Manila 1912

Spain, to Rizal, was a venue for realizing his dreams. He finished his studies in Madrid and this to him was the realization of the bigger part of his ambition. His vision broadened while he was in Spain to the point of awakening in him an understanding of human nature, sparking in him the realization that his people needed him. It must have been this sentiment that prompted him to pursue, during the re-organizational meeting of the Circulo-Hispano-Filipino, to be one of its activities, the publication of a book to which all the members would contribute papers on the various aspects and conditions of Philippines life.
“My proposal on the book,” he wrote on January 2, 1884, “was unanimously approved. But afterwards difficulties and objections were raised which seemed to me rather odd, and a number of gentlemen stood up and refused to discuss the matter any further. In view of this I decided not to press it any longer, feeling that it was impossible to count on general support…”
“Fortunately,” writes one of Rizals biographers, the anthology, if we may call it that, was never written. Instead, the next year, Pedro Paterno published his Ninay, a novel sub-titled Costumbres filipinas (Philippines Customs), thus partly fulfilling the original purpose of Rizals plan. He himself (Rizal), as we have seen, had put aside his pen in deference to the wishes of his parents.
But the idea of writing a novel himself must have grown on him. It would be no poem to forgotten after a year, no essay in a review of scant circulation, no speech that passed in the night, but a long and serious work on which he might labor, exercising his mind and hand, without troubling his mothers sleep. He would call it Noli Me Tangere; the Latin echo of the Spoliarium is not without significance. He seems to have told no one in his family about his grand design; it is not mentioned in his correspondence until the book is well-nigh completed. But the other expatriates knew what he was doing; later, when Pastells was blaming the Noli on the influence of German Protestants, he would call his compatriots to witness that he had written half of the novel in Madrid a fourth part in Paris, and only the remainder in Germany.
“From the first,” writes Leon Ma. Guerrero, Rizal was haunted by the fear that his novel would never find its way into print, that it would remain unread. He had little enough money for his own needs, let alone the cost of the Nolis publication¦ Characteristically, Rizal would not hear of asking his friends for help. He did not want to compromise them.
Viola insisted on lending him the money (P300 for 2,000 copies); Rizal at first demurred¦ Finally Rizal gave in and the novel went to press. The proofs were delivered daily, and one day the messenger, according to Viola, took it upon himself to warn the author that if he ever returned to the Philippines he would lose his head. Rizal was too enthralled by seeing his work in print to do more than smile.
The printing apparently took considerably less time than the original estimate of five months for Viola did not arrive in Berlin until December and by the 21st March 1887, Rizal was already sending Blumentritt a copy of “my first book.”
Rizal, himself, describing the nature of the Noli Me Tangere to his friend Blumentritt, wrote, “The Novel is the first impartial and bold account of the life of the tagalogs. The Filipinos will find in it the history of the last ten years…”
Criticism and attacks against the Noli and its author came from all quarters. An anonymous letter signed “A Friar” and sent to Rizal, dated February 15, 1888, says in part: “How ungrateful you are… If you, or for that matter all your men, think you have a grievance, then challenge us and we shall pick up the gauntlet, for we are not cowards like you, which is not to say that a hidden hand will not put an end to your life.”
A special committee of the faculty of the University of Santo Tomas, at the request of the Archbishop Pedro Payo, found and condemned the novel as heretical, impious, and scandalous in its religious aspect, and unpatriotic, subversive of public order and harmful to the Spanish government and its administration of theses islands in its political aspect.
On December 28, 1887, Fray Salvador Font, the cura of Tondo and chairman of the Permanent Commission of Censorship composed of laymen and ordered that the circulation of this pernicious book” be absolutely prohibited.
Not content, Font caused the circulation of copies of the prohibition, an act which brought an effect contrary to what he desired. Instead of what he expected, the negative publicity awakened more the curiosity of the people who managed to get copies of the book.
Assisting Father Font in his aim to discredit the Noli was an Augustinian friar by the name of Jose Rodriguez. In a pamphlet entitled Caiingat Cayo (Beware). Fr. Rodriguez warned the people that in reading the book they “commit mortal sin,” considering that it was full of heresy.
As far as Madrid, there was furor over the Noli, as evidenced by an article which bitterly criticized the novel published in a Madrid newspaper in January, 1890, and written by one Vicente Barrantes. In like manner, a member of the Senate in the Spanish Cortes assailed the novel as “anti-Catholic, Protestant, socialistic.”
It is well to note that not detractors alone visibly reacted to the effects of the Noli. For if there were bitter critics, another group composed of staunch defenders found every reason to justify its publication and circulation to the greatest number of Filipinos. For instance, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, cleverly writing under an assumed name Dolores Manapat, successfully circulated a publication that negated the effect of Father Rodriguez Caiingat Cayo, Del Pilars piece was entitled Caiigat Cayo (Be Slippery as an Eel). Deceiving similar in format to Rodriguez Caiingat Cayo, the people were readily “misled” into getting not a copy o Rodriguez piece but Del Pillars.
The Noli Me Tangere found another staunch defender in the person of a Catholic theologian of the Manila Cathedral, in Father Vicente Garcia. Under the pen-name Justo Desiderio Magalang. Father Garcia wrote a very scholarly defense of the Noli, claiming among other things that Rizal cannot be an ignorant man, being the product of Spanish officials and corrupt friars; he himself who had warned the people of committing mortal sin if they read the novel had therefore committed such sin for he has read the novel.
Consequently, realizing how much the Noli had awakened his countrymen, to the point of defending his novel, Rizal said: “Now I die content.”
Fittingly, Rizal found it a timely and effective gesture to dedicate his novel to the country of his people whose experiences and sufferings he wrote about, sufferings which he brought to light in an effort to awaken his countrymen to the truths that had long remained unspoken, although not totally unheard of.
El Filibusterismo
The word “filibustero” wrote Rizal to his friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, is very little known in the Philippines. The masses do not know it yet.
Jose Alejandro, one of the new Filipinos who had been quite intimate with Rizal, said, “in writing the Noli Rizal signed his own death warrant.” Subsequent events, after the fate of the Noli was sealed by the Spanish authorities, prompted Rizal to write the continuation of his first novel. He confessed, however, that regretted very much having killed Elias instead of Ibarra, reasoning that when he published the Noli his health was very much broken, and was very unsure of being able to write the continuation and speak of a revolution.
Explaining to Marcelo H. del Pilar his inability to contribute articles to the La Solidaridad, Rizal said that he was haunted by certain sad presentiments, and that he had been dreaming almost every night of dead relatives and friends a few days before his 29th birthday, that is why he wanted to finish the second part of the Noli at all costs.
Consequently, as expected of a determined character, Rizal apparently went in writing, for to his friend, Blumentritt, he wrote on March 29, 1891: “I have finished my book. Ah! I've not written it with any idea of vengeance against my enemies, but only for the good of those who suffer and for the rights of Tagalog humanity, although brown and not good-looking.”
To a Filipino friend in Hong Kong, Jose Basa, Rizal likewise eagerly announced the completion of his second novel. Having moved to Ghent to have the book published at cheaper cost, Rizal once more wrote his friend, Basa, in Hongkong on July 9, 1891: “I am not sailing at once, because I am now printing the second part of the Noli here, as you may see from the enclosed pages. I prefer to publish it in some other way before leaving Europe, for it seemed to me a pity not to do so. For the past three months I have not received a single centavo, so I have pawned all that I have in order to publish this book. I will continue publishing it as long as I can; and when there is nothing to pawn I will stop and return to be at your side.”
Inevitably, Rizals next letter to Basa contained the tragic news of the suspension of the printing of the sequel to his first novel due to lack of funds, forcing him to stop and leave the book half-way. “It is a pity,” he wrote Basa, “because it seems to me that this second part is more important than the first, and if I do not finish it here, it will never be finished.”
Fortunately, Rizal was not to remain in despair for long. A compatriot, Valentin Ventura, learned of Rizal’s predicament. He offered him financial assistance. Even then Rizal was forced to shorten the novel quite drastically, leaving only thirty-eight chapters compared to the sixty-four chapters of the first novel.
Rizal moved to Ghent, and writes Jose Alejandro. The sequel to Rizals Noli came off the press by the middle of September, 1891.On the 18th he sent Basa two copies, and Valentin Ventura the original manuscript and an autographed printed copy.
Inspired by what the word filibustero connoted in relation to the circumstances obtaining in his time, and his spirits dampened by the tragic execution of the three martyred priests, Rizal aptly titled the second part of the Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo. In veneration of the three priests, he dedicated the book to them.
“To the memory of the priests, Don Mariano Gomez (85 years old), Don Jose Burgos (30 years old), and Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years old). Executed in the Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February, 1872.”
“The church, by refusing to degrade you, has placed in doubt the crime that has been imputed to you; the Government, by surrounding your trials with mystery and shadows causes the belief that there was some error, committed in fatal moments; and all the Philippines, by worshipping your memory and calling you martyrs, in no sense recognizes your culpability. In so far, therefore, as your complicity in the Cavite Mutiny is not clearly proved, as you may or may not have been patriots, and as you may or may not cherished sentiments for justice and for liberty, I have the right to dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake to combat. And while we await expectantly upon Spain some day to restore your good name and cease to be answerable for your death, let these pages serve as a tardy wreath of dried leaves over one who without clear proofs attacks your memory stains his hands in your blood.”
Rizals memory seemed to have failed him, though, for Father Gomez was then 73 not 85, Father Burgos 35 not 30 Father Zamora 37 not 35; and the date of execution 17th not 28th.
The FOREWORD of the Fili was addressed to his beloved countrymen, thus:
“TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE AND THEIR GOVERNMENT”