Jose Rizal Father of Philippine Nationalism

7/18/2019 Jose Rizal Father of Philippine Nationalism

1/13

Department of History National University of Singapore

Dr. Jose Rizal, Father of Filipino NationalismAuthor(s): Estaban A. de OcampoSource: Journal of Southeast Asian History, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Mar., 1962), pp. 44-55Published by: Cambridge University Presson behalf of Department of History, National Universityof Singapore

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2/13

DR.

JOSE

RIZAL,

FATHER

OF

FILIPINO

NATIONALISM

Estaban

A.

de

Ocampo

For

this International

Conference of South-East

Asian

Historians,

it

is

my

honour

to

contribute

a

paper

on

"Dr.

Jose

Rizal,

Father

of

Filipino

Nationalism,"

for

several

reasons.

First,

Dr.

Rizal himself

was

very

much

interested

in

the

history

of

this

part

of

the

world.1

Second,

this

year

1961

has

been

proclaimed

by

the

President

of

the

Philippines

as

the

Rizal

Centenary

Year,

for

our

hero

was

born in

1861.6

Third,

if Rizal

were

alive

today,

he

would have

been

happy

1. Dr.

Jose

Rizal,

in

a

letter

written from

Brussels,

Belgium

(May

26,

1890)

to

his

friend,

Prof.

Ferdinand

Blumentritt,

said: "I

am now

dedicating

with

ardour

to

all studies that

refer

to

the

Far East.

Here

I

bought

various

books

about

voyages,

histories,

etc...I

have

History

of

Sumatra

by

Marsden;

Voyage

Around

the

World

by

Pages;

Picturesque Voyage

Around the

World

by

Dumont

d'Urville; Picturesque Voyage Around the World by Bougainville; Voyage to

Africa

and

Asia

(Java

and

Japan)

by

Thumberg;

Malacca,

Indo

China, China,

Malabar

Kniitkoff,

etc.

by

Thompson;

besides,

16 volumes

of

History

of

Voyages

Until

1760.

There is much

about

the

Philippines

in

this

work;

I

also

have

Malaisie,

the Universe

by

Rienzi;

China

by

Panthier and

the

Gesantschappen

an

de Kaisaren

van

Japan."

{Epistolario

Rizalino;

Manila: Bureau of

Printing,

1938;

Vol.

V,

Part

2,

p

556)

In

a

subsequent

letter dated

May

26, 1890,

Dr. Rizal

again

informed

Prof.

Blumentritt:

"Recently

I

acquired

the

following

works:

Java

by

Raffles

and

Voyage

Around the

World

by

Beauvoir...I also have the

Complete

Works

of

Herder..

.38

volumes."

(Ibid.,

p.

564)

Three

years

before,

while

he

was

in

Berlin,

Dr. Rizal

wrote to

Prof.

Blumentritt,

thus:

"I

have

the

great

honor of

being

nominated associate

(or

member)

of the

Ethnographic

Society.

I

was

present

at

the

ordinary

session

of the

same

and

also in the

extraordinary

Sometime

ago

Dr. Donitz

gave

an

interesting

conference

about

Japanese pre-historic

tombs with decorated

plates

found

in them.

It

was

the

best

lecture

I

heard in the two

sessions."

(Ibid.,

Vol.

V,

Part

1,

p.

68)

From

London Dr.

Reinhold

Rost,

Orientalist

friend of

Rizal,

wrote to

him,

saying:

"I

am

glad

you

are

doing

a

lot of

philological

work.

Would

you

not

send

some

contributions

of

articles

to

the

Asiatic

Society

of

Singapore,

or

to

the

R.

Asiatic

Society

here,

or

to

the

Shanghai Society,

or

to

the

one

at

Wellington

in New Zealand?...

"I

enclose

a

few

notices

of

books

that

may

interest

you.

They

are

from

Luzac's

Monthly

Oriental

List,

for

which

I

supply

all the

notices.

The

forth

coming

number will bring something about an

English-Sulu-Malay

vocabulary,

just

published."

(The

letter of Dr.

Rost

was

dated

January

5, 1894,

and

was

sent

to

Dr. Rizal

in

Dapitan,

northern

Mindanao where

the hero

was

exiled

by

the

Spanish

authorities

since

July,

1892.

Ibid.,

Vol.

IV,

p.

185)

Dr. Rizal

planned

to

establish

a

Filipino

agricultural

colony

in

Sandakan,

British

North

Borneo. As

a

matter

of

fact,

he

visited

Sandakan

early

in

1892

after

making

preliminary

negotiations

with Mr.

W. B.

Pryer.

44

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3/13

RIZAL

to

receive

an

invitation

to

attend

our

Conference

because

our

hero

was

the

organizer

of

the

International Association

of

Filipinists

in

Europe

in 1889.3

Fourth,

Dr.

Rizal

has been

ranked

by

his

bn>

graphers,

both

Filipinos

and

foreigners,

as

one

of

the

great

intel

lectual

leaders

of

Asia,

together

with

Mahatma

Gandhi

of

India

and Dr. Sun Yat-sen of

China.4

Lastly,

Dr.

Rizal visited

this

city

of

Singapore

no

less

than

three times in

the

course

of

his

many

travels

to

foreign

lands.5

Dr.

Jose

Rizal

is the

greatest

Filipino

hero

and

martyr

that

has

ever

lived. He

is

far

greater

than

the

late President

Manuel

President

Carlos

P.

Garcia

of

the

Philippines

issued

on

December

12,

1960

'Proclamation

No.

724

authorizing

the

Philippines

International

Fair,

Inc.

to

hold

an

International

Fair in the

Sunken

Gardens...

City

of

Manila,

Philippines,

from

February

1

to

March

31, 1961,

in

celebration

of

Rizal's

Centenary

Birthday

Anniversary

in

1961

which has been declared

as

JOSE

RIZAL YEAR with

the

slogan

"VISIT

THE PHILIPPINES

-

SEE THE

ORIENT".

"Evidently

inspired by

his

Philippine

research studies in the British

Museum

and

impelled by

the

urge

to

attract

the attention of

Europe's

scholars

to

his

country's

rich

historical

lore,

Rizal

conceived the idea

of

establishing

an

Inter

national

Association

of

Filipinologists.

He

broached

this

idea

to

Blumentritt

in

a

letter

dated

at

London,

January

14,

1889,

with

an

inclosed

prospectus

written

by

him.

According

to

this

prospectus,

the

object

of the

association

was "to

study

the

Philippines

from the

scientific and historical

point

of view.'

The

officers

were

Professor

F.

Blumentritt,

President;

Mr. Edmund Planchut

(French),

Vice-President;

Dr. Reinhold Rost

(Anglo-German)

and Dr. Antonio Ma.

Regidor

(Filipino), Counsellors; and Dr. Jose Rizal (Filipino), Secretary. Among the

renowned

scholars

invited

by

Rizal

to

become members

of

the

association

were:

Dr.

Henry

Yule

of

England,

Drs. A.

B.

Meyer

and

Feodor

Jagor

of

Germany;

and

Dr.

H. Kern

of

Holland;

and Dr.

Czepelack

of

Poland."

(Dr.

Gregorio

F.

Zaide,

Rizal

as

Historian;

Manila,

1953,

pp.

5-6;

Letter

of

Rizal

to

Prof.

Blumentritt

dated

at

London,

January

14,

1889;

in

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

V,

Part

2,

pp.

381-391).

Dr.

Austin

Craig,

"Many

Nations

of the

World Paid Dr.

Jose

Rizal

Tribute,"

in The Tribune

(Manila),

December

30, 1933,

p,

14.

Dr.

Jose

Rizal

visited

Singapore

during

these

periods:

on

May

9-11,

1882,

while

on

his

first

trip

to

Europe;

on

July

27,

1887,

while

on

his

return

trip

to

Manila;

on

November

10, 1891,

while

on

his second

return

voyage

to the

Philippines;

on

September

8, 1896,

while

on

his

trip

to

Cuba

via

Barcelona;

and

in

October,

1896,

on

his

way

back

to

Manila

aboard

the

Spanish warship,

S.S.

Colon.

(Dr.

Rizal's

Travel

Diary,

1882

in

Bulletin

of the

Philippine

Historical Associa

tion,

No.

2

(December,

1957),

pp.

100-105;

Rizal's

Diary

for

1887

(unpublished);

Rizal's

Diary

for

1891

(unpublished);

and Rizal's

Diary

for

1896

in the

Bulletin

of

the

Philippine

Historical

Association,

No. 1

(July,

1957),

p.

57.

Portions

of Rizal's

1882

Travel

Diary pertaining

to

his brief

sojourn

in

Singapore,

follow:

"We

see

more

clearly

vessels,

houses,

vegetation,

highways,

chimneys

?

all that

an

active

city

has.

The

port

pilot

came

later.

We

stop.

A crowd

of

Indians,

Malays,

and

Englishmen

flocked

to

the

boat,

offering

in

a

language

they

alone

can

understand

carriages, changing

gold

for

silver,

etc.,

etc..

.At

last

I disembark

and

hire

a

carriage

to

take

me to

La

Paz

Hotel

(now

the

Adelphi

Hotel-O.).

"I'm

in

my

room

which overlooks

a

patio adjoining

the

Hotel

Europa

(the

Supreme

Court

building

now

occupies

the

site).

I

hear

English spoken

every

where ..."

"Two

large

coal

warehouses,

but

large

ones,

stand

at the

landing;

then,

well

built

streets;

plants

on

the

sides:

Chinese-style

houses;

crowds

of

Indians

of

Herculean

figures;

Chinese;

a

few

Europeans;

and

very, very

few Chinese

women.

Shops

everywhere

with

advertisements

in

English

and

Chinese;

most

lively

men...We

pass

before

the

Malabar

temple,

the

Muslim,

and

the

Chinese.

We

saw the

police

headquarters,

and

returning

to

the

hotel,

I

saw the

Protestant

church

in

Gothic

style..."

45



4/13

RIZAL

L.

Quezon,

first

President

of the

Commonwealth

of

the

Philippines;

greater

also

than

the

late

popular

President

Ramon

Magsaysay;

and

he

is also

greater

than

our

incumbent

President,

Mr.

Carlos

P.

Garcia.

Rizal

was

a

doctor of medicine

like

Dr.

Sun Yat-sen

of

China

and

he

had

saintly

qualities

like Mahatma Gandhi

of India.

He

was

more

versatile than either Gandhi

or

Dr.

Sun,

for Rizal

was

not

only

a

physician

and

an

ophthalmologist

but

he

was

also

a

poet,

novelist,

linguist, essayist,

anthropologist,

philologist,

painter,

sculptor,

teacher and

educator, translator, farmer,

traveler,

and

a

great

historian besides.0 At this

juncture,

may

I

be

permitted

to

quote

what

two

noted

European

scholars

who knew

our

hero

intimately

said. Dr.

Adolph

B.

Meyer,

Director of the

Royal

Zoolo

gical

and

Anthropological

Museum

in

Dresden,

Germany,

admitted

that "Rizal's

many

sidedness

was

stupendous."7

Prof. Ferdinand

Blumentritt,

Austrian

savant,

wrote

of

our

martyr-hero,

thus: "Not

only

is RIZAL

the

most

prominent

man

of

his

own

people,

but

the

greatest

man

the

Malayan

race

has

produced.

His

memory

will

never

perish

in his

fatherland,

and

future

generations

of

Spaniards

will

yet

learn

to

utter

his

name

with

respect

and

reverence/'8

Dr.

Rizal

was

born into

a

well-to-do

family

and

he

obtained

the

best education in Manila and in several countries of Europe. In

that continent he

became

a

member

of

a

number of

scientific

socie

6.

Dr. Frank

C.

Laubach,

American

biographer

of the

Filipino

hero,

wrote

in

his

book:

"When

one

records

the

wide

range

of

activities

in

which

Rizal

shone,

the

list

is rather

staggering:

"Poet

?

perhaps

the foremost in his

race.

"Painter and

sculptor

who

won

gold

medals.

"Novelist

?

"Noli

Me

Tangere

was

the

greatest

novel

in

fifty years/

said

William Dean

Howells.

"Dramatist;

Historian;

Sociologist;

Physician,

ophthalmologist,

and

surgeon;

Educator;

Economist;

Ethnologist;

Naturalist;

Psychologist;

Theologian;

Sanitary

engineer;

Scientific

farmer;

"Philologist

? who

spoke Spanish,

Latin, French, Italian,

English,

German,

Japanese,

Dutch, Catalan,

Tagalog,

Visayan,

Ilocano, Cebuano,

Subano and

Malayan.

Translated

Greek,

Hebrew, Arabic, Sanscrit,

and Chinese.

Could

read

Russian,

Swedish,

and

Portuguese.

Twenty-two languages

in

all."

(Rizal:

Man

and

Martyr;

Manila:

Community

Publishers,

Inc., 1936,

pp.

395-396;

Sr.

Javier

Gomez

de

la

Serna,

in his

"Prologue"

to

Retan's

Life,

and

Writings

of

Dr.

Jose

Rizal,

wrote:

"La

figura

humana

de

Rizal

es

digna

de

profunda

estudio. Vivi? treinta

y

cinco

anos;

a

los veintisiete

habia dado

la

vuelta al

mundo;

fue

medico,

novelista,

poeta,

politico,

fil?logo,

pedagogo,

agricultor,,

tip?grafo, poliglota (hablaba

mas

de diez

lenguas),

escultor,

pintor,

naturalista,

miembro

de

celebres

Centros cient?ficos

europeos,

que

dieron

su

nombre

a

espe

cies

nuevas

por

el

descubiertas;

vivi?

y

estudio

en

las

grandes

capitales

de

Europa

y

America;

el

indice de

sus

libros

y

escritos

varios

ocupa

no

pocas

paginas

de

este

volumen.

Dedicaron

a su

muerte

veladas

y

recuerdos

necrol?gicos

varias

Sociedades

cientificas,

y

la Prensa

de todo

el

mundo Ese fue

el

hombre

que

fusilamos."

(Wenceslao

E.

Retana,

Vida

y

Escritos

del Dr.

Jose

Rizal;

Madrid:

Librer?a

General

de

Victoriano

Suarez,

1907,

p.

VIII).

7.

Quoted

by

Dr.

Jose

P.

Bantug

in

his

Rizal:

Scholar

and

Scientist;

Manila:

Bureau

of

Printing,

1946,

p.

5.

8.

Prof.

Ferdinand

Blumentritt,

"Rizal

on

Race

Differences,"

in

Dr. Austin

Craig,

Rizal's

Political

Writings;

Manila:

Oriental

Commercial

Company,

1933,

p.

56.

46



5/13

RIZAL

ties,

like the

Anthropological

and

Ethnographical

Society

of Berlin.9

He

was a

good

friend

of

many

outstanding

scholars

and

scientists of

Europe,

among

whom

may

be

mentioned

Dr.

Rudolf

Virchow,

"Father

of

Cellular

Pathology,";

Dr. Feodor

Jagor,

German writer

and

traveller;

Dr.

H.

Kern,

Dutch

Sanskrit scholar

and

a

great

philo

logist;

Dr.

Adolf

B.

Meyer,

noted

anthropologist;

Dr.

Reinhold

Rost,

philologist,

Orientalist,

and

Librarian

of

the

India Office in

London;

etc.10

In

order

to

better

appreciate

why

Rizal

became the

Father of

Filipino

Nationalism,

it

is

important

to

recall

the

conditions

prevail

ing

in

Asia,

including

the

Philippines,

during

the lifetime

of

our

hero.

With

the

exception

of

China,

Japan,

and

Thailand,

all

the

rest of Asia or the Far East were dominated

by

the Western Powers.

The

Filipinos

under

Spain

did

not

enjoy

the

basic human

rights;

they

were

denied

the

freedom

of

speech,

of

the

press,

of

religion,

of

association,

and of

the

other

blessings

that

are

the

concomitants

of

the democratic

regime.

They

were

merely

the

'

'hewers

of wood

and drawers

of

water"

in

their

own

country.

Church

and

State

were

united

with the

Spanish clergy

exercising

more

power

and

influence

than the civil officials

over

practically

all

affairs of

life. The

Fili

pino people

under

the

Spanish

administration

were

so

unhappy

that

there occurred no less than a hundred revolts against their Spanish

master

during

their

rule of

more

than three

centuries.

While still

very young

Rizal

became

keenly

aware

of

the

deplor

able conditions

of his

unfortunate

country

and

the

oppressive

rule

of

their

Spanish

masters.

Originally

our

hero

planned

to

take

up

the

priesthood

and

become

a

Jesuit

father,

but

when he

was

only

eleven

years

old

and

heard

of

the

unjust

execution

of

three

innocent

native

clergymen

?

Fathers Mariano

Gomez,

Jose

A.

Burgos,

and

Jacinto

Zamora

?

he

changed

his

mind

and

swore

to

dedicate

his life

to

avenge

one

day

such

victims

and

to

fight

for

the

legitimate rights

of

his

down-trodden

countrymen.

This

is what

he said:

...Without

1872

we

would

not

now

have

Plaridel

Jaena,

Sanciano,

nor

would

the

valiant

and

generous

Filipino

colo

nies

in

Europe

exist;

without

1872,

Rizal

would

now

be

a

Jesuit

and

instead

of

writing

Noli Me

Tangere,

he

would have

victims,

and

with this idea

I

have been

studying.

This

can

be

those

injustices

and

cruelties,

my

imagination

was

awakened

and

I

swore

to

dedicate

myself

in

avenging

some

day

so

many

victims,

and with this idea

I

ha?e

been

studying.

This

can

be

9.

From

Berlin Dr.

Rizal

wrote

to

Blumentritt

saying,

among

other

things:

"He

tenido el

gran

honor

de

ser

nombrado

socio

de la

Sociedad

Etnogr?fica."

(Letter

dated

Jan.

26,

1887;

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

V,

Part

1,

p.

68)

In

another

letter

dated

at

Berlin

on

February

7, 1887,

Rizal

again

informed Blumentritt:

"Ya

me

aceptaron

en

la

Sociedad

Antropol?gica;

en

la

Soc.

Geogr?fica

me

propusieron

como

socio..."

(Ibid.,

p.

73).

10. Please

see

"Note No.

3",

supra.

47



6/13

RIZAL

read

in all

my

works

and

books:

God will

give

me

the chance

some

day

to

fulfill

my

promise.

Good

?

let

them

commit

abuses,

let

them

imprison,

exile,

execute

victims

?

very

well

?

may

destiny

be

fulfilled The

day

in

which

they

lay

hands

on

us,

the

day

when

they martyrize

our

innocent

families because

of

us

?

farewell

to

government

by

the

friars,

and

possibly,

fare

well

to

the

Spanish

government ...11

On

another

occasion

Dr.

Rizal

told his

friend Dr.

Maximo

Viola

of

his mission

on

earth.

As recorded

by

the

latter,

he

wrote:

"That God had

given

him

his

way

of

being

and

thinking.

And

that

to act

contrary

to

these

things

would

constitute rebellion

against

His wish.

He

said that

as

a

doctor he

had

studied

the

manner of

preventing,

curing,

or

alleviating

the

physical

diseases

of

man,

and

in

the

same

way

he

was

convinced of

his

obligation

to

remedy

the

moral

diseases of his

country.

Besides,

he doubted

how

his

countrymen

would

respond

to

the

preachings

of

his

novel,

if he

himself

would

not

set

the

example

in

his

own

land. For

surely

they

would

not

think that

he

had

dared

to

say

what

he

pleased

only

because

he

was

in

a

place

where he

was

safe."12

Unlike

the

majority

of his

countrymen

of

his

time,

Dr. Rizal

did

not

accept

the

teaching

of

the

Spaniards

that

the

white

people

was

superior

to

the

colored

races

simply

because

of

their fair

com

plexion

and

high

noses.

During

his

student

days

at

the

Spanish

college

and

university

in

Manila,

he

studied

very

hard

in

order

to

outshine

his white

and

mestizo

classmates,

and he

was

successful

in

obtaining

the

highest

ratings

in

his

class.

In

literary

competi

tions,

like

poetry

and the

drama,

Rizal

participated

in

order

to

match his

ability

with

his

white

competitors.

In

one contest

his

entry

was

adjudged

the best

among

those submitted

but when the

Spanish

judges

of

the

literary joust

learned

that

the first

prize

would

go

to

an

Indio

(Filipino)

competitor,

they

awarded

our

hero

only

second

place.13

Rizal

did

not

stay

long

in

the

University

of Santo Tomas

in

Manila,

where

he

was

pursuing

the medical

course,

because of the

rampant

racial

discrimination

against

the

Filipino

students

and be

cause

of the

unpedagogic

methods

of instruction

in

that

university.

At the

age

of

twenty-one,

he

set

sail for

Spain

in

order

to

finish his

studies

there

and

to

observe

the

conditions

of

the

life

of

the

people

in

Europe.

Shortly

after

his

arrival

in

Barcelona,

the first

article

Rizal

wrote

11. From

Dr.

Rizal's

letter

to

Mr. Mariano

Ponce,

etc.

dated

at

Paris,

April

18,

1889

in

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

II,

p.

166.

12.

Dr.

Maximo

Viola,

"My

Travels

with

Jose

Rizal,"

in

The Manila

Times,

January

2,

1951,

p.

3.

13.

Dr.

Austin

Craig,

Rizal's

Own

Story

of

His

Life,

Manila:

National

Book

Com

pany,

1918,

p.

103;

Dr.

Jose

Rizal,

"Laughter

and

Tears,"

in

Juan

Collas,.

Rizal's

Unknown

Writings;

Manila,

cl953,

p.

99.

48



7/13

RIZAL

for

a

Manila

periodical

was

entitled

Love

of

Country

(Amor

Patrio)

in

which he

urged

his

fellow-countrymen

to

love

their native

land,

the

Philippines.

Two

years

later,

in

Madrid,

he delivered

a

well

applauded

speech

at

the

Luna-Hidalgo

banquet

in

the

presence

of

prominent

Spanish

artists,

men

of

letters,

and

political

leaders.

Though

he stressed the

necessity

of

enhancing

the

fraternal

bonds

that bound

Spain

and

the

Philippines,

yet

he

vigorously

expounded

on

the

urgency

of

instituting

some

reforms

in

the

administration

of

the

Spaniards

in his

native

land

so

that the

loyalty

of his

people

to

the

mother

country

would

not

be

impired14

.

While

Rizal

advocated

strongly

for

the amelioration

of the

pitiful

conditions in

his

country,

he

likewise

insisted that his

people

should

try to improve themselves

through

industry

and education so that

they

would

deserve

the

respect

and

admiration

of the

foreigners.

"My

countrymen,"

he

wrote,

"I have

given

proofs

that

I

am

one

most

anxious

for

liberties

of

our

country,

and

I

am

still

desirous

of them. But

I

place

as a

prior

condition

the

education

of

the

peo

ple,

that

by

means

of

instruction and

industry

our

country

may

have

an

individuality

of its

own

and

make

itself

worthy

of these

liberties.

I

have recommended

in

my

writings

the

study

of the civic

virtues,

without which

there

is

no

redemption.

I

have written

likewise

(and I repeat my words) that reforms, to be beneficial, must come

from

above,

that

those

which

come

from below

are

irregularly

gained

and uncertain."13

Our

hero also worked

hard

in

order

to

bring

about

the

unity

of

all

the

Filipinos

then

residing

or

studying

in

Europe

so

that

they

could

effectively

demand

for the

rights

of

their

people.

He

told them

to

forget

their

personal

jealousies

and

petty

rivalries

and

to

labor

only

for the

common cause

of their

country.

"Union,

goodwill,

and

harmony,

?

these

are

what

we

need

so

much"

?

he

wrote to Graciano Lopez Jaena in March, 1889. In May of the

same

year,

he

also

said

in

a

letter

to

Mariano Ponce

that it

was

necessary

to

"preserve

union

above

all".

Also

in

the

same

year,

he

again

wrote to

friends

in

Barcelona

stressing

the need for

har

mony

and

unity

among

the

Filipinos.

He

said: "I

am

confident

that

we

shall

go

forward,

always

united,

with

our

hands

outstretched

in

friendship,

giving

to

one

another

mutual

help

an

counsel.

.

."16

Later,

when

he learned that

some

of the

Filipino

young

men

in

Spain

practically

neglected

their

studies because

they

spent

most

14.

Jose

Rizal,

"Speech"

at the

Luna-Hidalgo

banquet

in

Madrid,

June

25, 1884,

in Dr.

Austin

Craig,

Rizal's

Political

Writings,

pp.

238-243.

15.

Rizal's

"Manifesto

to

Some

Filipinos"

written

at

his Fort

Santiago prison,

Manila,

December

15, 1896,

in

Dr.

Camilo

Osias,

Jose

Rizal:

His

Life

and

Times

(Manila:

Oscol

Educational

Publishers,

Inc.,

1938),

p.

370.

16.

Rizal's letter

to

his

Filipino

friends

at

Barcelona

dated

at

London,

early

1889,

in

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

II,

p.

98.

49



8/13

RIZAL

of

their

time

in

gambling

and

in

having

a

good

time,

Rizal from

Brussels

wrote

to

Marcelo

H.

del

Pilar

stating

that

The

Filipino

comes

to

Europe

not

to

gamble

or

amuse

him

self

but

to

work

for the

liberty

of his

race

and

to

uphold

the

dignity

of

his

people.

In

order

to

gamble,

it

is

not

necessary

to

leave

the

Philippines

for

there

is

too

much

gambling

there

as

it

is.

If

we

who

are

young

and

are

expected

by

our

poor

people

to

do

something

for them

should

waste

our

time

in

use

less

activities,

I fear

that

instead

of

being

worthy

of

liberty

we

would

befit ourselves

for

slavery.

I

appeal

to

the

patriotism

of

all

the

Filipinos

that

they

may

give

the

Spanish

nation

one

tangible

proof

that

we

can

rise

over our misfortunes, that we are not brutalized, and that our

noble sentiments

cannot

be

put

to

sleep

by

the

corruption

of

their customs.17

Dr.

Rizal

has been

justly

acclaimed

by

his

own

people

as

the

"Father

of

Filipino

Nationalism''

because

he

was

the

first

Filipino

leader

that

advocated

the

idea

of

nationhood

for his

countrymen.

In

his

prize-winning

poem,

To

the

Filipino

Youth

(A

La

Juventud

Filipina),

written

in

1879,

he

emphasized

the

notion

that

the

Philip

pines,

not

Spain,

was

the

motherland of

the

Filipinos.

"This

new

inspiration, which was to burn in his soul all his life," observed

Dr. Rafael

Palma,

"was

reflected

in

whatever

he

wrote

subsequently.

The idea

of

a

motherland

of

his

own was

the result

of

his

reflection

?he did

not

receive

it

from others."18

In

his

second

novel,

El

Filibusterismo

(Ghent,

1891),

Rizal

(through

the

mouth of

Simoun

talking

to

Basilio)

again spoke

of

the formation

of

a

Filipino

nation,

thus:

"You

ask

for

equal

rights

(with

the

Spaniards

?

O.),

the

Hispanization

of

your

customs,

and

you

don't

see

that what

you

are

begging

for

is

suicide,

the

destruc

tion

of

your

nationality,

the

annihilation

of

your

fatherland,

the

consecration

of

tyranny

What

will

you

be

in the future? A

peo

ple

without

character,

a

nation

without

liberty

?

everything

you

have

will

be

borrowed,

even

your

very

defects .

.

.19

"Are

they

unwilling

that

you

be

assimilated

with

the

Spanish

people?

Good

enough

Distinguish

yourselves

then

by

revealing

yourselves

in

your

own

character,

try

to

lay

the

foundations

of

the

Philippine

fatherland "20

And

in

a

letter

to

the Rev. Vicente

Garcia,

an

old

Filipino

theologian,

Rizal

once

more

expressed

the

17.

From

Dr. Rizal's

letter

to

Sr. Marcelo

H.

del

Pilar dated

at

Brussels,

May

28,

1890,

in

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

Ill,

pp.

39-40.

18. Rafael

Palma,

The

Pride

of

the

Malay

Race

(New

York:

Prentice-Hall,

Inc.,

1949),

p.

35.

19.

Jose

Rizal,

The

Reign

of

Greed

(Manila:

Philippine

Education

Company, 1927),

p.

60.

This

book

is

the

English

translation

of his

second

novel,

El

Filibusterismo

(Ghent,

Belgium,

1891).

20.

Ibid.,

p.

62.

50



9/13

RIZAL

same

thought:

"Ours

is

a

tremendous

task.

We

young

Filipinos

are

trying

to

make

over

a

nation

and

must

not

halt

in

our

onward

march,

but from time

to

time

turn

our

gaze upon

our

elders."21

Dr.

Rizal

was

convinced

that

the

best

weapon

he

could wield

in

combatting

the

enemies

of

his

people

and

in

upholding

the

rights

of the

Filipinos

was

the

pen.

For

this

reason,

he

thought

of

writing

a

novel

in

the

manner

of Harriet

Beecher

Stowe's

Uncle

Tom's

Cabin

in

which he would

portray

the

abuses

and

atrocities

committed

by

the

Spanish

civil

and

religious

officials

in

the

Philip

pines.

At the

same

time he

also

wanted

to

expose

the

ignorance,

superstitions,

and

vices

of

his

people

in the

same

work.

The

result

of

his

labors

along

this

line

was

the

publication

in

Berlin,

1887,

of

his novel entitled Noli Me

Tangere

(Touch

Me

Not).

When this

book

was

read

by

his

friends

in

Europe

and

in the

Philippines, they

at

once

hailed the

author

as

a

courageous

and

intelligent

leader

for

exposing

the

social

cancer

that

afflicted

his

country.

If

I

were

asked

to

pick

out

a

single

work

by

a

Filipino

writer

during

the

period

from

1882

to

1896

which,

more

than

any

other

writing,

contributed

tremendously

to

the

formation of

Filipino

nationality,

I

shall

have

no

hesitation

in

choosing

Rizal's

Noli

Me

Tangere.

It

is

true

that

Pedro A.

Paterno

published

his novel

Ninay in Madrid in 1885; Marcelo H. del Pilar, his La Soberan?a

Monacal

(Monastic

Sovereignty)

in

Barcelona,

1889;

Graciano

Lopez

Jaena,

his

Discursos

y

Art?culos

Various

(Speeches

and

Various

Articles)

also

in

Barcelona,

1891;

and

Antonio

Luna,

his

Impresiones

(Impressions)

in

Madrid,

1893,

but

none

of

these books

had

evoked

such

favorable

and

unfavorable

comments

from

friends

and

foes

alike

as

did

Rizal's Noli.

Typical

of the

encomiums that

the

hero

received for

his

novel

wTere

those he received

from

Antonio

Maria

Regidor

and

Prof.

Ferdinand

Blumentritt.

Regidor,

a

Filipino exile of 1872 in

London,

said

that "the

book

was

superior"

and

that

"if Don

Quijote

has

made

its

author

immortal

because

he

exposed

to

the world

the

sufferings

of

Spain,

your

Noli

Me

Tangere

will

bring

you

equal

glory.

.

.

"22

Blumentritt,

after

reading

Rizal's

Noli,

wrote

and

con

gratulated

its

author,

saying

among

other

things:

"Your

work,

as

we

Germans

say,

has

been written

with

the blood

of

the

heart.

.

.

Your

work

has exceeded

my

hopes

and

I

consider

myself

fortunate

and

happy

to

have been

honored with

your

friendship.

Not

only

I,

but

also

your

country, may

feel

happy

for

having

in

you

a

patriotic

and

loyal

son.

If

you

continue

so,

you

will be

to

your

people

one

21.

From

Rizal's

letter

to

Rev.

Vicente

Garcia

dated

at

Madrid,

Jan.

7,

1891,

in

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

Ill,

pp.

136-137;

Dr.

Austin

Craig,

Rizal's

Political

Writings,

p.

244.

22.

From

Antonio

Ma.

Regidor's

letter to

Dr.

Jose

Rizal

dated

at

London,

May

3,

1887,

in

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

II,

p.

5).

51



10/13

RIZAL

of

those

great

men

who

will

exercise

a

determinative

influence

over

the

progress

of their

spiritual

life."23

If Rizal's

friends

and

admirers

praised

with

justifiable pride

the

Noli

and

its

author,

his

enemies

were

equally

loud

and

bitter

in

attacking

and

condemning

the

same.

Perhaps

no

other

work

or

writing

of

another

Filipino

author

has,

up

to

this

day,

aroused

as

much

acrimonious

debate

not

only

among

our

people

but

also

among

the

reactionary

foreigners

as

the

Noli of

Rizal.

In

the

Philippines

the

hero's novel

was

attacked

and

condemned

by

a

Faculty

Committee

of

a

Manila

University

and

by

the

Permanent

Commission of

Censorship

in

1887.

The Committee

said that

it

found the book

"heretical,

impious,

and scandalous

to

the

religious

order, and

unpatriotic

and subversive to

public

order, libelous to

the

Government

of

Spain

and

to

its

political

policies

in

these

Islands",

while the

Commission

recommended

"that

the

importa

tion,

reproduction,

and circulation of

this

pernicious

book

in

the

Islands

be

absolutely

prohibited.24

Coming

down

to

our

time,

during

the

Congressional

discussions

and

hearings

on

the

Rizal

(or

Noli-Fili)

bill

in

1956,

the

proponents

and

opponents

of the

measure

also

engaged

themselves

in

a

bitter

and

long-drawn-out

debate

that

finally

resulted

in

the

enactment

of

a

compromise

bill,

now

known

as

Republic

Act

No.

1425.25

The

attacks

on

Rizal's

first novel

were

not

only

confined

in

the

Philippines

but

were

also

staged

in

the

Spanish capital.

There,

Senator Fernando

Vida,

Deputy

Luis

M.

de

Pando,

and

Premier

Pr?xedes

Mateo

Sagasta

were

among

those who

unjustly

lambasted

and

criticized Rizal

and

his

Noli

in

the

two

chambers of the

Spanish

Cortes

in

1888

and

1889.26 It

is

comforting

to

learn, however,

that

about thirteen

years

later,

Congressman

Henry

Allen

Cooper

of

Wisconsin

delivered

an

eulogy

of

Rizal

and

even

recited

the

martyr's

Ultimo

Pensamiento

(My

Last

Farewell)

on

the floor

of

the United States House of

Representatives

in order to

prove

the

capacity

of the

Filipinos

for

self-government.

He

said

in

part:

"It

has

been

said

that,

if American

institutions

had

done

nothing

else

than

furnish

to the world the

character

of

George Washington,

that

alone

would

entitle them

to

the

respect

of mankind.

So, Sir,

I

say

to

all those

who

denounce

the

Filipinos

indiscriminately

as

barbarians

and

savages,

without

possibility

of

a

civilized

future,

that

23.

Letter

of

Prof. Ferdinand

Blumentritt

to

Rizal

written at

Leitmeritz,

Austria

Hungary,

March,

27,

1887;

Ibid.,

Vol.

I,

pp.

258-259.

24. Dr. Austin Craig, Rizal's Political Writings, pp. 281-305;

Rafael

Palma, The

Pride

of

the

Malay

Race,

pp.

93-95.

25.

Republic

Act

No.

1425,

approved

on

June

12,

1956,

is

entitled "An

Act

to

include

in

the curricula

of

all

public

and

private

schools,

colleges

and

universities

Courses

on

the

Life,

Works

and

Writings

of

Jose

Rizal,

particularly

his novels

Noli Me

Tangere

and

El

Filibusterismo,

authorizing

the

printing

and

distri

bution

thereof,

and

for

other

purposes".

26.

Wenceslao

E.

Retana,

Vida

y

Escritos

del

Dr.

Jose

Rizal,

pp.

131-133.

52



11/13

RIZAL

this

despised

race

proved

itself

entitled

to

their

respect

and

to

the

respect

of mankind

when it

furnished

to

the

world

the

character

of

Jose

Rizal."27

The

result of

this

appeal

of

Representative

Cooper

was

the

approval

of what

is

popularly

known

as

the

Philip

pine

Bill

of

1902

which

gave

the

Filipinos

a

larger

measure

of

home-rule.

Rizal's

unselfish sacrifices

and constant

campaign

to

form

the

Filipino

nation

was

deeply

appreciated

by

his

friends,

and

they

hailed him

as

the

most

outstanding

Filipino

fighter

for

freedom.

Writing

from

Barcelona

to

the

Great

Malayan

on

March

10, 1889,

Marcelo

H.

del

Pilar

said: "Rizal

no

tiene

aun

derecho

a

morir:

su

nombre

constituye

la

mas

pura

e

inmaculada

bandera

de

aspira

ciones,

y

Plaridel

y

los

suyos

no son otra cosa mas

que

unos

volun

tarios

que

militan

bajo

esa

bandera."28

Don

Fernando

Acevedo,

who

called

Rizal

his

"distinguido

amigo,

compa?ero

y

paisano",

wrote

the

latter

from

Zaragoza,

Spain,

on

October

25,

1889:

"I

see

in

you

the

model

Filipino;

your

application

to

study

and

your

talents have

placed

you

on

a

height

which

I

revere

and

admire."29

The

Bicolano

Dr.

Tomas

Arejola

wrote

Rizal

in

Madrid,

February

9, 1891,

saying:

"Your

moral

influence

over as

is

indisputable."30

And

Guillermo

Puatu of

Bulacan

wrote

this

tribute

to

Rizal,

say

ing: "Vd. a

quien

se le puede

(llamar)

con raz?n, cabeza titular de

los

filipinos,

aunque

la

comparaci?n

parezca

algo

ridicula,

porque

posee

la

virtud

de

atraer

consigo

enconadas

voluntades,

zanjar

las

discordias

y

enemistades

rencorosas,

reunir

en

fiestas

a

hombres

que

no

querian

verse

ni

en

la

calle.

.

."31

Among

the

foreigners

who

recognized

Rizal

as

the

leading

Fili

pino

of

his time

were

Blumentritt,

Napoleon

M.

Kheil,

Dr.

Rein

hold

Rost,

and

Vicente

Barrantes. Prof.

Blumentritt

told

Dr.

Maximo

Viola

in

May,

1887,

that "Rizal

was

the

greatest

product

of the

Philippines

and that his

coming

to the world was like the

appearance

of

a

rare

comet,

whose

rare

brilliance

appears

only

every

other

century".32

Napoleon

M.

Kheil of

Prague,

Austria,

wrote

to

Rizal

and

said: "admiro

en

Vd.

a

un

noble

representante

de

la

Espa?a

colonial".33

Dr.

Rost,

distinguished

Malayologist

and

Librarian

of

the

India

Office

in

London,

called

Rizal "una

perla

de

27.

Osias,

op.

cit.,

p.

444.

28.

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

II,

p.

145.

29.

Ibid.,

Vol.

II,

p.

233.

30. Ibid., Vol. III, p. 159.

31.

From

Guillermo Puatu's letter

to

Rizal

dated at

Pontevedra,

Spain,

November

2,

1890;

Ibid.,

Vol.

Ill,

p.

120.

32.

Viola,

op.

cit.,

January

4,

1951,

p.

3.

33.

Napoleon

M.

Kheil's letter

to

Rizal dated

at

Prague,

Austria-Hungary,

November

3, 1894;

Epistolario

Rizalino,

Vol.

IV,

p.

217.

34.

Ibid.,

Vol.

IV,

p.

275.

53



12/13

RIZAL

hombre",34

while

Don

Vicente

Barrantes

had

to

admit that Rizal

was

"the

first

among

the

Filipinos".35

That

the

labors

of Rizal and

his

contemporaries

in

the formation

of

a

Filipino

nation

had

been successful

was

amply

shown

by

the

national

uprising

against

Spain

in

1896.

"This

event,"

in

the

words of

Dr.

Leandro

H.

Fernandez,

"clearly

demonstrated

that

at

that

time

Filipino

nationality

already

existed.

The existence of

this

sentiment

was

brought

out more

emphatically

during

the

troublous

days

of

war

against

the

United

States."

Elaborating

fur

ther

on

this

point,

historian

Fernandez

wrote:

".

.

.in

spite

of

its

Tagalog beginning,

the

Revolution

about

the

middle

of 1898

was;

truly

national

in

its

scope

and,

more

important

still,

in its

aims.

. .

Not a

single

thought

for the establishment of a sectional

govern

ment

ever

crossed

the

mind

of

Aguinaldo

or

Mabini.

They

were

not

fighting

for

the

emancipation

of

Cavit?

or

for

Batangas

or

for

Luzon,

but for

the

whole

Philippines.

It

was

natural, therefore,

that

the

activities

of

the

Revolutionary

Government

as

well

as

of

the

Republic

should

be

truly

national.

And

so

it

came

about that

a

Tagalog

Republic

or

a

Republic

of

Luzon

was not

established

but

a

Philippine

Republic.

They

did

not

draw

up

an

Ilocano

Constitution,

but

a

Constitution

for

the whole

Philippines;

they

did not create a Pampangan flag, but a Filipino flag symbolizing

not

only

Luzon,

but

also

the

Bisayas

and

Mindanao;

and the

hymn

that

was

composed

by

one

of the

bards

of

the Revolution

was

written

and

addressed

not to

any

portion

of

the

Archipelago,

but

to

the

whole

Adored Fatherland."26

The

one

hundred

years

since

the birth

of

Dr.

Jose

Rizal

witness

ed

many

fundamental

changes

in

the

life

of the

peoples

of the

earth.

The

Philippines,

caught

in

the

vortex

of

world

politics

and

power

struggle,

changed

their

masters

from

Spanish

to

American

at

the

turn

of

the

present

century.

Rizal

became

the foremost

leader

of

his

people

in

their

nationalist

movement

during

the

last

two

decades

of

the

nineteenth

century,

and

the

principles

and

ideals

which

he

espoused

became

deeply

engrained

in

the heart

and

mind

of

his

countrymen.

He

gave

his

people

a

sense

of

dignity

and

a

spirit

of

unity

that

propelled

them

on

the road

of

progress

and

prosperity.

Rizal

is

not

dead: he

lives

immortal

in

the

conscience

of

his

countrymen

to

serve as

their

guide

and

inspiration

in

their

march

towards

Destiny.

The

Filipinos,

inspired

by

Rizal,

worked

hard

and

long

to

achieve their

independence

in

1946,

the first in Asia to win free

dom

from

external

control

without

bloodshed.

Subsequently,

the

35.

Ibid.,

Vol.

II,

p.

285.

36.

Leandro

H.

Fernandez,

"The

Formation

of

Filipino

Nationality,"

in

Eliseo

Quirino

and

Vicente

F.

Hilario,

Thinking

for

Ourselves

(Manila:

Oriental

Commercial

Company,

1924),

pp.

212-214.

54



13/13

RIZAL

Hindus,

the

Pakistans,

the

Indonesians,

the

Burmese,

the

Ceylonese,

and

other

Asian

peoples

also

realized

their

dream of

becoming

independent

nations,

thanks

to

the

example

of Rizal's beloved

During

his

lifetime,

Rizal

was

looked

upon

by

the

Spanish

re

actionaries

as

the

greatest

enemy

and

traitor

of

Spain

and

they

did

not

stop

persecuting

him

until he

was

executed

on

December

30,

1896;

now,

Rizal is

generally

acclaimed

as

the

greatest

hero and

martyr

of

his

country,

and

the "Father

of

Filipino

Nationalism".

It

was

Prof.

Blumentritt who said:

"Not

only

is

Rizal

the

most

prominent

man

of

his

own

people,

but the

greatest

man

the

Malayan

race

has

produced.

His

memory

will

never

perish

in

his

fatherland,

and

future

generations

of

Spaniards

will

yet

learn

to

utter his name with

respect

and reverence.

"An

enemy

of

Spain

he

has

never

been."37

37.

Blumentritt,

op.

cit.,

p.

56.

55

Documents

Jose Rizal Father of Philippine Nationalism