El Amor Patrio

(Love of Country)
(Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa)

Amor Patrio

- Nationalistic essay

• Rizal’s first article written on Spain’s soil

- Under his pen-name Laong Laan, appeared in print in Diariong Tagalog on

August 20, 1882.

• It was published in two texts- Spanish and Tagalog- the Spanish was the one
originally written by Rizal in Barcelona, the Tagalog text was a Tagalog
translation made by Marcelo H. del Pilar.

• Basilio Teodoro Moran- a friend of Rizal in Manila and the publisher of

Diariong Tagalog where Rizal sent this article.

Interpretation

• He recorded in his diary that his motherland was the seat of all his affection
and that he loved it that no matter how beautiful Europe would be, he
would still like to go back to her.

• Spotlights the reasons behind that deep fondness for his land of birth.

• “In our country are the first memories of childhood and the memories of
the first days of our life”.

• “Pagkakakilala ng utang na loob” or to show gratitude.

• “Ang pag-ibig sa inang baya’y siyang pinakawagas, pinakamagiting at

pinakadakila.”

• Love of country was a great emotion that had been sung for centuries by all
men, free or slaves because it “is never effaced once it has penetrated the
heart.”
 • “Pag-ibig kailanman ay siyang pinakamakapangyarihang tagapagbunsod ng
mga gawaing lalong magiting; sa lahat ng pag-ibig, sa inang bayan ang
siyang nakalikha ng mga gawang lalong magiting.”

• Rizal showed that Filipinos had their own native land to mind and love and
that land was the Philippines, not Spain.

• Rizal’s love for the motherland meant absolute independence for the
country.

Significance of the Work Today

• Enlightened Filipinos to show gratitude not only to the native land, but also
everything in it.

• To embrace and cherish where you came from because that makes you
who you are.

• It asks the question, “What can you do for your country?”

• Promotes Nationalism.

• Promotes peace; “Huwag niyong pakasakitang-loob ang taga-ibang lupa.”

 HYMN TO LABOR
“Himno Al Trabajo”

This composition by Rizal which was originally written in Spanish, in general

speaks about how every Filipino is willing to work hard, or labour, for his
country.
Hymn to Labor was written in response to a request from Rizal’s comrades in
Lipa, Batangas, who then were in need of a hymn to sing during the ceremony
in honour of Lipa being declared a city in January 1888. More accurately, Then,
This song is intended to praise the hard work and industry of the people of
Lipa.
HYMN TO LABOR

For the Motherland in war,

For the Motherland in peace,

The Filipino will be ready,

While he lives and when he dies!

Men:

As soon as the East is tinted with light

Forth to the fields to plow the loam!

Since it is work that sustains the man,

Hard though the soil may prove to be,

Implacable the sun above,

For motherland, our wives and babes,

‘Twill be easy with our love.

WIVES:
Courageously set out to work.

Your home is safe with a faithful wife

Implanting in her children, love

For wisdom, land and virtuous life.

When nightfall brings us to our rest,

May smiling fortune guard our door;

But if cruel fate should harm her man,

The wife would toil on as before.

MAIDENS:

Hail! Hail! Give praise to work.

The country’s vigour and her wealth;

For work lift up your brow serene

It is your blood, your life, your health.

If any youth protests his love

His work shall prove if he be good.

That man alone who strives and toils

Can find the way to feed his blood.

CHILDREN:

Teach us then the hardest tasks

For down thy trails we turn our feet

That when our country calls tomorrow

Thy purposes we may complete….

And may our elders say, who see us.

See! How worthy of their sires!

No incense can exalt our dead ones

Like a brave son who aspires!

For the Motherland in war,

For the Motherland in peace,

The Filipino will be ready,

While he lives and when he dies!

These first four lines of verses comprise the chorus. It signifies that every Filipino,
in his patriotism, will keep a watchful yet loving eye on his country with equal
passion at wartime and in times of peace. There will be no desertion especially
during the more difficult times in the country’s history, even if it means he pays
for his loyalty with his life.

Men:

As soon as the East is tinted with light

Forth to the fields to plow the loam!

Since it is work that sustains the man,

Hard though the soil may prove to be,

Implacable the sun above,

For motherland, our wives and babes,

‘Twill is easy with our love.

 The first stanza is sung by the men.

This is the first of four societal groups identified in this hymn, which signifies that
all members of society without regard for gender or age, should uphold and
honour their country.

(Chorus)

WIVES:

Courageously set out to work.

Your home is safe with a faithful wife

Implanting in her children, love

For wisdom, land and virtuous life.

When nightfall brings us to our rest,

May smiling fortune guard our door;

But if cruel fate should harm her man,

The wife would toil on as before.

The role of a wife during the time of Rizal was plain and simple: she was the
steward of the home, the mother of the children. Modern thinking might
dispense premature reaction to this notion; however it only takes a few lines to
see that Rizal was, in fact, also a feminist, ahead of his time.

This verse pays tribute to mothers who dedicate their lives to the rearing and
upbringing of their children, teaching them the right values and morals to become
upright citizens, Education and formation, after all, begin and end in the home. In
the last two lines, it is evident that, given the precarious nature of life in a time
when war is imminent, wives may lose their husbands and so it is in their capable
hands to carry out the business of men in the context of home and family, should
the men find themselves no longer able to do their duty.

MAIDENS:

Hail! Hail! Give praise to work.

The country’s vigour and her wealth;

For work lift up your brow serene

It is your blood, your life, your health.

If any youth protests his love

His work shall prove if he be good.

That man alone who strives and toils

Can find the way to feed his blood.

The third verse is sung by maidens, who salute to labour and encourage the
young men to give their lives to hard work and industry for the good of the
nation. This is supposed to be sung with joy and pride, signifying that no fair
maiden wants a lazy young man sits and waits for nothing all the day long but
instead cheers for that youth full of valour and expresses her willingness to be the
youth’s wife on account of his spirit, not merely his looks.

CHILDREN:

Teach us then the hardest tasks

For down thy trails we turn our feet

That when our country calls tomorrow

Thy purposes we may complete….

And may our elders say, who see us.

 See! How worthy of their sires!

No incense can exalt our dead ones

Like a brave son who aspires!

It is apparent in Filipino culture then and now, that children have high regard for
the approval of their elders. This verse underlines the importance of keeping the
culture and tradition that is handed down to them from the previous generation,
and that they in future, will hand down to their own sons and daughters . It also
expresses the children’s wish to pursue the footsteps of those that have gone
before them, in preparation for when the time comes for them to take charge,
however premature and unexpected that time may be.
 HIMNO A TALISAY
(HYMN TO TALISAY)
• Spanish authorities accused our national hero of igniting a revolution by means of
writing a seditious poem which was later transformed into a song.

• In a letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt dated March13, 1895, Rizal wrote that he was
teaching 16 pupils in Talisay, a place near Dapitan.

• He did not charge his pupils tuition, but instead asked them to help him construct a
water-depository for the dry season.

• The subjects Rizal taught them were Spanish, French, German, English, Geography,
History, Mathematics, Arithmetic, Science, Environment, Values and Geometry. Formal
classes were held from 2:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon.

Cont.

• After class, Rizal allowed his pupils the pupils to engage in sports to boost their strength,
such as gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, boxing, boating and arnis. Rizal and his
students often held class under a Talisay tree.

• In honor of this tree, he made this poem, which was later adapted to a melody, making
it a song;

• Rizal conducted his school at his home in Talisay.

• His favorite rendezvous with his boys was under a talisay tree.

HYMN TO TALISAY

At Dapitan, the sandy shore

And rocks aloft on mountain crest

Form thy throne, O refuge blest,

That we from childhood days have known.

In your vales that flowers adorn

And your fruitful leafy shade,

Our thinking power are being made,

And soul with body being grown.

We are youth not long on earth

But our souls are free from sorrow;

Calm, strong men we’ll be tomorrow,

Who can guard our families’ right.

Lads are we whom naught can frighten,

Whether thunder, waves, or rain

Swift of arm, serene of mien

In peril, shall we wage our fights.

With our games we churn the sand,

Through the caves and crags we roam,

On the rocks we make our home,

Everywhere our arms can reach.

Neither dark nor night obscure

Cause us fear, nor fierce torment

That even Satan can invent

Life or death? We must face each!

“Talisayans”, people call us!

Mighty souls in bodies small

O’er Dapitan’s district all

No Talisay like this towers.

None can march our reservoir.

Our diving pool the sea profound!

No rowing boat the world around

For the moment can pass ours.

We study science exact;

The history of our motherland;

Three languages or four command;

Bring faith and reason in accord.

Our hands can manage at one time

The sail and working spade and pen,

The mason’s maul – for virile men

Companions – and the gun and sword.

Live, live, O leafy green Talisay!

Our voices sing thy praise in chorus

Clear star, precious treasure for us.

Our childhood’s wisdom and its balm.

In fights that wait for every man,

In sorrow and adversity,

Thy memory a charm will be,

And in the tomb, thy name, thy calm.

CHORUS

Hail, O Talisay!

Firm and untiring

Ever aspiring,

Stately thy gait.

Things, everywhere

In sea, land and air

Shalt thou dominate

MESSAGE:
The poem speaks of hope for tomorrow, despite of the late education. The children believe that
despite of being children, they will be their family’s guardian by means of education.

OTHER INFORMATION:

 The poem seemed to be free from any trace of revolutionary ideas. However, on
December 2, 1896, at the time of the trial of Dr. Jose Rizal, copies of documents ascribed
to Rizal were transmitted by Colonel Francisco Olive to the investigating officer Rafael
Dominguez.
 The documents written in Tagalog, were confiscated by the Spanish authorities of the
Veteran Civil Guard from Mr. Fresell’s warehouse, claiming that the papers were owned
by Andres Bonifacio.
 The Spanish prosecutors claimed that the lyrics of Rizal’s Hymn to Talisay and Kundiman
contained seditious ideas, encouraging the Filipinos to revolt. 
 Jose Rizal denied that the confiscated papers with verses of Kundiman came from him,
but he accepted the validity of To Talisay.
IN MEMORY OF MY TOWN
( Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo)
 When I recall the days
That saw my childhood of yore
Beside the verdant shore
Of a murmuring lagoon;
When I remember the sighs
Of the breeze that on my brow
Sweet and caressing did blow
With coolness full of delight;

When I look at the lily white

Fills up with air violent
And the stormy element
On the sand doth meekly sleep;
When sweet 'toxicating scent
From the flowers I inhale
Which at the dawn they exhale
When at us it begins to peep;

I sadly recall your face,

Oh precious infancy,
That a mother lovingly
Did succeed to embellish.
I remember a simple town;
My cradle, joy and boon,
Beside the cool lagoon
The seat of all my wish.

Oh, yes! With uncertain pace

I trod your forest lands,
And on your river banks
A pleasant fun I found;
At your rustic temple I prayed
With a little boy's simple faith
And your aura's flawless breath
Filled my heart with joy profound.

Saw I God in the grandeur

Of your woods which for centuries stand;
Never did I understand
In your bosom what sorrows were;
While I gazed on your azure sky
Neither love nor tenderness
Failed me, 'cause my happiness
In the heart of nature rests there.
 Tender childhood, beautiful town,
Rich fountain of happiness,
Of harmonious melodies,
That drives away my sorrow!
Return thee to my heart,
Bring back my gentle hours

Calamba, “ CRADLE OF GENIUS”

 Rizal loved Calamba with all his heart and soul. In 1876, when he was 15 years old and
was a student in Ateneo, being away from his family, reminisced his memories of
childhood in his hometown Calamba. Accordingly, he wrote a Poem Un Recuerdo A Mi
Pueblo (In Memory of My Town). Which vividly described his childhood years in
Calamba.

Earliest Childhood Memories

 The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family garden.

 Because he was frail, sickly and undersized child, he was given the most tender care by
his parents.

 His father built a Nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in the daytime

 Daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, Rizal related, his mother gathered all the children at
the house to pray the Angelus.

 He also remembered the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the rosary

 Another memory of his infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town, especially when
there was a moon.
 MY LAST FAREWELL
(Mi Ultimo Adios)
MY LAST FAREWELL
 Rizal’s last and greatest poem
 an unsigned, untitled and undated poem of five-line
stanzas
 found in the small alcohol stove (cocinilla), not alcohol
lamp (lamparilla)
 reproduced copies on the poem was sent to Rizal’s friends
in the country and abroad
 Fr. Mariano Dacanay (Filipino priest and patriot)
- gave the title of the poem, Mi Ultimo Adios and
published for the first time in La Independencia on September
25,1898
 Mariano Ponce - Mi Ultimo Pensamiento (The Last
Thought)
FIRST STANZA
Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress'd
Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!
Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best,
And were it brighter, fresher, or more blest
Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost.
Rizal speaks about a beautiful description of his fatherland. He
expresses no regret but only gladness, knowing that in giving
his life, he is giving his country the greatest gift any citizen
could offer.
SECOND STANZA
On the field of battle, 'mid the frenzy of fight,
Others have given their lives, without doubt or heed;
The place matters not-cypress or laurel or lily white,
Scaffold or open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight,
‘Tis ever the same, to serve our home and country's need.
Here, Rizal says that it does not matter where one dies, but why
one dies and to what purpose. Whether it’s “scaffold, open
field, conflict or martyrdom’s site,” all death hold the same
honor if given for home and country.
THIRD STANZA
I die just when I see the dawn break,
Through the gloom of night, to herald the day;
And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,
Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake
To dye with its crimson the waking ray.
He is willing to die for our county just to attain the liberty he
was hoping for.
FOURTH STANZA
My dreams, when life first opened to me,
My dreams, when the hopes of youth beat high,
Were to see thy lov'd face, O gem of the Orient sea
From gloom and grief, from care and sorrow free;
No blush on thy brow, no tear in thine eye.
Since his childhood, even as other children dreamed of childish
things, Rizal dreamed of seeing his country free, esteemed, and
with head held high.
FIFTH STANZA
Dream of my life, my living and burning desire,
All hail ! cries the soul that is now to take flight;
All hail ! And sweet it is for thee to expire ;
To die for thy sake, that thou mayst aspire;
And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long night.
His dream of liberation is his burning desire. “All hail!” is a
positive greeting of his near death. But his joy does not end in
the act of dying, but continues beyond the grave, where he
shall sleep in his country’s mystic land through eternity.
SIXTH STANZA
If over my grave some day thou seest grow,
In the grassy sod, a humble flower,
Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so,
While I may feel on my brow in the cold tomb below
The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's warm power.
In this stanza, Rizal likens his soul to that of “a simple humble
flower amidst thick grasses.” The use of this comparison says a
lot about how Rizal sees himself – timid, simple, humble,
surrounded by the unrelenting forces of society. He imagines
 that after his death, he will live on in the bosom of his
motherland, and never cease to enjoy her love, which he begs
her to express with a kiss.
SEVENTH STANZA
Let the moon beam over me soft and serene,
Let the dawn shed over me its radiant flashes,
Let the wind with sad lament over me keen ;
And if on my cross a bird should be seen,
Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my ashes.
Rizal’s love for nature is again depicted in these next four lines.
Perhaps it is a simple image of his reunion with nature that he
wants to bring to mind; perhaps it is also an expression of the
loneliness and isolation that he has felt and continues to feel in
his fight for freedom.
EIGHTH STANZA
Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,
And heavenward in purity bear my tardy protest
Let some kind soul o 'er my untimely fate sigh,
And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on high
From thee, 0 my country, that in God I may rest.
 Rizal beseeches his country to pray that his soul may rest in
God’s hands.
NINETH STANZA
Pray for all those that hapless have died,
For all who have suffered the unmeasur'd pain;
For our mothers that bitterly their woes have cried,
For widows and orphans, for captives by torture tried
And then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.
Rizal wants his fellowmen to pray for others who have suffered
the same fate as he will, who have died for their country; the
mothers, wives, and children they have left behind who suffer
no less for being abandoned. He also, in a hopeful closing note,
asks her to pray for herself.
TENTH STANZA
And when the dark night wraps the graveyard around
With only the dead in their vigil to see
Break not my repose or the mystery profound
And perchance thou mayst hear a sad hymn resound
'T is I, O my country, raising a song unto thee.
 Clearly, Rizal has not imagined that a monument would
eventually be built over his grave and has pictured his final
resting place as a humble cemetery where he shall, even after
death, sing a song of devotion for his motherland.
ELEVENTH STANZA
And even my grave is remembered no more
Unmark'd by never a cross nor a stone
Let the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it o'er
That my ashes may carpet earthly floor,
Before into nothingness at last they are blown.
In this next stanza, Rizal wishes to then be “plowed by man”
when his grave is no longer remembered, and be scattered as
he returns to be part of the dust that covers the land he had
died for.
TWELVETH STANZA
Then will oblivion bring to me no care
As over thy vales and plains I sweep;
Throbbing and cleansed in thy space and air
With color and light, with song and lament I fare,
Ever repeating the faith that I keep.
 Being forgotten doesn’t matter to Rizal for he would travel
distant and wide place over his beloved fatherland.
THIRTEENTH STANZA
My Fatherland ador'd, that sadness to my sorrow lends
Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last good-by!
I give thee all: parents and kindred and friends
For I go where no slave before the oppressor bends,
Where faith can never kill, and God reigns e'er on high!
Rizal bids farewell to his one great love – his country – and yet
looks forward to being with God, where there are no slaves and
tyrants.
FOURTEENTH STANZA
Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away,
Friends of my childhood in the home dispossessed !
Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day !
Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;
Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest!
Rizal cries his farewell to all his fellowmen- his childhood friends and his
sweet friends that lightened his way. “In death there is rest” means that
he is ready to be executed and is happy to die in peace.
 MY FIRST INSPIRATION

(MI PRIMERA INSPIRATION)

DR. J0SE P. RIZAL
 First poem written by Dr. Jose Rizal during his third academic year in
Ateneo de Municipal.

 He wrote the poem in 1874, before he turned 14.

 Rizal dedicated this poem to his mother and he presented as a gift on her
birthday.

Why falls so rich a spray

Of fragrance from the bowers

Of the balmy flowers

Upon this festive day?

Why from woods and vales

Do we hear sweet measures ringing

That seem to be the singing

Of a choir of nightingales?

Why in the grass below

Do birds start at the wind’s noises,

Unleashing their honeyed voices

As they hop from bough to bough?

Why should the spring that glows

 Its crystalline murmur be tuning

To the zephyr’s mellow crooning

As among the flowers it flows?

Why seems to me more endearing,

More fair than on other days,

The dawn’s enchanting face

Among red clouds appearing?

The reason, dear mother, is

They feast your day of bloom:

The rose with its perfume,

The bird with its harmonies.

And the spring that rings with laughter

Upon this joyful day

With its murmur seems to say:

“Live happily ever after!”.

And from that spring in the grove

Now turn to hear the first note

That from my lute I emote

To the impulse of my love.

 MY RETREAT
BY :JOSE RIZAL

Beside a spacious beach of fine and delicate sand 

and at the foot of a mountain greener than a leaf, 
I planted my humble hut beneath a pleasant orchard, 
seeking in the still serenity of the woods 
repose to my intellect and silence to my grief. 

Its roof is fragile nipa; its floor is brittle bamboo; 

its beams and posts are rough as rough-hewn wood can be; 
of no worth, it is certain, is my rustic cabin; 
but on the lap of the eternal mount it slumbers 
and night and day is lulled by the crooning of the sea. 

The overflowing brook, that from the shadowy jungle 

descends between huge bolders, washes it with its spray, 
donating a current of water through makeshift bamboo pipes 
that in the silent night is melody and music 
and crystalline nectar in the noon heat of the day. 

If the sky is serene, meekly flows the spring, 

strumming on its invisible zither unceasingly; 
but come the time of the rains, and an impetuous torrent
spills over rocks and chasms—hoarse, foaming and aboil—
to hurl itself with a frenzied roaring toward the sea. 

 The barking of the dog, the twittering of the birds, 

the hoarse voice of the kalaw are all that I hear; 
there is no boastful man, no nuisance of a neighbor 
to impose himself on my mind or to disturb my passage; 
only the forests and the sea do I have near. 

The sea, the sea is everything! Its sovereign mass 

brings to me atoms of a myriad faraway lands; 
its bright smile animates me in the limpid mornings; 
 and when at the end of day my faith has proven futile, 
my heart echoes the sound of its sorrow on the sands. 

At night it is a mystery! … Its diaphanous element 

is carpeted with thousands and thousands of lights that climb; 
the wandering breeze is cool, the firmament is brilliant, 
the waves narrate with many a sigh to the mild wind 
histories that were lost in the dark night of time. 

‘Tis said they tell of the first morning on the earth, 

of the first kiss with which the sun inflamed her breast, 
when multitudes of beings materialized from nothing 
to populate the abyss and the overhanging summits 
and all the places where that quickening kiss was pressed. 

 But when the winds rage in the darkness of the night 

and the unquiet waves commence their agony, 
across the air move cries that terrify the spirit, 
a chorus of voices praying, a lamentation that seems 
to come from those who, long ago, drowned in the sea. 

Then do the mountain ranges on high reverberate; 

the trees stir far and wide, by a fit of trembling seized; 
the cattle moan; the dark depths of the forest resound; 
their spirits say that they are on their way to the plain, 
summoned by the dead to a mortuary feast. 

The wild night hisses, hisses, confused and terrifying; 

one sees the sea afire with flames of green and blue; 
but calm is re-established with the approach of dawning 
and forthwith an intrepid little fishing vessel 
begins to navigate the weary waves anew. 

So pass the days of my life in my obscure retreat; 

cast out of the world where once I dwelt: such is my rare 
good fortune; and Providence be praised for my condition: 
a disregarded pebble that craves nothing but moss 
to hide from all the treasure that in myself I bear. 
 I live with the remembrance of those that I have loved 
and hear their names still spoken, who haunt my memory; 
some already are dead, others have long forgotten— 
but what does it matter? I live remembering the past 
and no one can ever take the past away from me. 

It is my faithful friend that never turns against me, 

that cheers my spirit when my spirit’s a lonesome wraith, 
that in my sleepless nights keeps watch with me and prays 
with me, and shares with me my exile and my cabin, 
and, when all doubt, alone infuses me with faith. 

Faith do I have, and I believe the day will shine 

when the Idea shall defeat brute force as well; 
and after the struggle and the lingering agony 
a voice more eloquent and happier than my own 
will then know how to utter victory’s canticle. 

I see the heavens shining, as flawless and refulgent 

as in the days that saw my first illusions start; 
I feel the same breeze kissing my autumnal brow, 
the same that once enkindled my fervent enthusiasm 
and turned the blood ebullient within my youthful heart.

Across the fields and rivers of my native town 

perhaps has traveled the breeze that now I breathe by chance; 
perhaps it will give back to me what once I gave it: 
the sighs and kisses of a person idolized 
and the sweet secrets of a virginal romance. 

On seeing the same moon, as silvery as before, 

I feel within me the ancient melancholy revive; 
a thousand memories of love and vows awaken: 
a patio, an azotea, a beach, a leafy bower; 
silences and sighs, and blushes of delight … 

A butterfly athirst for radiances and colors, 

dreaming of other skies and of a larger strife, 
 I left, scarcely a youth, my land and my affections, 
and vagrant everywhere, with no qualms, with no terrors, 
squandered in foreign lands the April of my life. 

And afterwards, when I desired, a weary swallow, 

to go back to the nest of those for whom I care, 
suddenly fiercely roared a violent hurricane 
and I found my wings broken, my dwelling place demolished, 
faith now sold to others, and ruins everywhere. 

Hurled upon a rock of the country I adore; 

the future ruined; no home, no health to bring me cheer; 
you come to me anew, dreams of rose and gold, 
of my entire existence the solitary treasure, 
convictions of a youth that was healthy and sincere. 

No more are you, like once, full of fire and life, 

offering a thousand crowns to immortality; 
somewhat serious I find you; and yet your face beloved, 
if now no longer as merry, if now no longer as vivid, 
now bear the superscription of fidelity.

You offer me, O illusions, the cup of consolation; 

you come to reawaken the years of youthful mirth; 
hurricane, I thank you; winds of heaven, I thank you 
that in good hour suspended by uncertain flight 
to bring me down to the bosom of my native earth. 

Beside a spacious beach of fine and delicate sand 

and at the foot of a mountain greener than a leaf, 
I found in my land a refuge under a pleasant orchard, 
and in its shadowy forests, serene tranquility, 
repose to my intellect and silence to my grief.
Jose Rizal

• Response to her mothers request

• MI RETIRO ( MY RETIRE). Sent on October 22,1895.

• Relating it to his serene life in Dapitan.

• it is one of the best ever poem made by Rizal

• Even in his exile, Rizal proved that life can still be abundant and full of
achievements.

• He lived as a merchant and a farmer and built three houses made from
bamboo, wood and nipa. 

• “I shall tell you how we lived here. I have three houses-one square,
another hexagonal, and the third octagonal.” This is part of his letter to
Blumentritt in December 19, 1893 about his peaceful life in Dapitan and the
following is his poem:

 Poem interpretation:

This poem tells a story about someone who leaves the chaos of the modern
world to be alone and reflect on nature. They retreat to repose, to be at ease, so
they can silence the grief, or forget the stress of life. For a while he is content with
all around him, admiring nature, then as he becomes lonely he remembers that
God is always with him. He tells us briefly of his faith and Gods ability to always be
there with him. With a sudden memory of all the things he saw as grief, he realize
that they were what they were and it is his choice to see them as he once did. His
choice to stay and die in his own solitude, he decides to return to the world from
which he once chose to retreat.
 Sa Aking Mga Kabata
DR. JOSE RIZAL
 1869

 8 years old

 Wikang Tagalog

 First poem of Rizal

The poem aims instill in young Filipinos the following:

 Tell the importance of the Filipino

 Language is God’s gift to us;

 We should love our language.

Kapagka ang baya’y sadyang umiibig

Sa kanyang salitang kaloob ng langit,

Sanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapit

Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.

Pagka’t ang salita’y isang kahatulan

Sa bayan, sa nayo’t mga kaharian,

At ang isang tao’y katulad, kabagay

Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan.

Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita

Mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda,

Kaya ang marapat pagyamaning kusa

Na tulad sa inang tunay na nagpala.

Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin

Sa Ingles, Kastila at salitang anghel,

Sapagka’t ang Poong maalam tumingin

Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin

Ang salita nati’y huwad din sa iba

Na may alfabeto at sariling letra,

Na kaya nawala’y dinatnan ng sigwa

Ang lunday sa lawa noong dakong una.

 The Indolence of the Filipinos

( La Indolencia de Los Filipinos)

Essay

• written by Dr. Jose Rizal as a response to the accusation of Filipino

indolence

• published in La Solidaridad Madrid, Spain

( July 15, 1890- Sept 15,1890)

 It was a continuation of Rizal’s campaign of education in which he sought

by blunt truths to awaken his countrymen to their own faults

Why did Rizal write this essay?

 Rizal wrote this essay to defend the Filipinos from the change that they
were born indolent.

“Indolent”

 Idle

 Lazy

 Little love for work

 Lack of activity
Chapter I

Admitting the Existence of Indolence

• Dr. Gregorio Sanciano

-First Filipino economist

- among the first generation of the Propaganda Movement

• climate- factor for being indolent

- “ A hot climate requires of the individual quiet and rest, just as cold incites
to labor and action”

-“ A man can live in any climate, if he will only adapt himself to it’s
requirements and conditions”.

• Working hours of Filipinos (tenants) us Spanish official and landlords.

- An hours work under the Philippine sun, he says, is equivalent to a days

work in temperate regions.

• Tendency to indolence is very natural

• Effect of misgovernment

Chapter II

Indolence as a chronic illness

• Rizal treated indolence as an illness and says that an illness will worsen if
the wrong treatment is given.

- They were also engaged in agriculture and mining

- Some natives even spoke Spanish

- All this disproves the notion that Filipinos are by nature indolent
 - Rizal ends by asking what then would have caused Filipinos to forget their
past

• “Indolence in the Philippines is a chronic malady, but not a hereditary one”

-Before the arrival of Spaniards, Malayan Filipinos raised on active trade, not
only among themselves but also with other neighboring countries (evidence that
Filipinos were not indolent)

Chapter III

• Rizal enumerates several reasons that may have caused the Filipinos
cultural and economic corruption

• Wars : conflict among Spaniards, natives and Moros

• Invasion of Pirates

- diminished number of native Filipinos

• Forced Labor

- Filipinos were sent abroad to fight for Spain or shipyards to construed vessels

• Some Filipinos hide in the forest and mountains and abandoned their farm
lands ( because of fear)

Chapter IV

Death of Trade in the Philippines

• Absence of encouragement from the government

- no aid for poor crops

- does not seek market for it’s products

• Abuse of landlords (encomenderos)

• Monopoly of government officials

 • Wrong doctrines

-false teaching of church

- Gambling- promise of sudden wealth

Why work? If the rich man will not go to heaven

• There has also been discrimination in education against natives

Chapter V

Limited Training and Education

• Causes of indolence can be reduced to two factors

- limited training and education of Filipino native

- developed inferiority

- lack of a national sentiment of unity among them

- because Filipinos think they are inferior, they submit to the foreign
culture and do everything to imitate it.

• The solution according to Rizal would be education and liberty

The Summary of the essay:

He defends the Filipinos by saying that they are not indolent by nature
because in fact, even before the arrival of Spaniards have been engaged in
economic activities such as agriculture and trade. Indolence therefore has more
deeply rooted causes such as , abuse and discrimination, inaction of the
government, rampant corruption and red tape, wrong doctrines of the church,
and wrong examples from some Spaniards who lead lives of indolence which
ultimately led to the deterioration of Filipino values. In the end, Rizal sums up the
main causes of indolence to the limited training and education Filipino natives
receive and to the lack of national sentiment and unity among them. Education
and liberty, according to Rizal, would be the cure to Filipino indolence.
Significance

You should not judge an individual if you do not know the culture of that
person. Remember the importance oh having Filipino values and qualities,
regardless of how other nationalities accept us.

THE SONG OF THE TRAVELER

By: Dr. Jose Rizal

Why did Jose Rizal wrote “The Song of the Traveler?”

 Rizal wrote this poem upon learning that his request to travel to Europe
and then Cuba to treat yellow fever had been granted by Governor Blanco.
This heartwarming poem reflects his excitement over being able to travel
freely.

 Months before the Katipunan contacted him, Rizal had offered his services
as military doctor in Cuba, which was then in the throes of a revolution and
a raging yellow fever epidemic.  There was a shortage of physicians to
minister to the needs of the Spanish troops and Cuban people.  It was
Blumentritt who told him of the deplorable health situation in war-ridden.
Cuba and advised him to volunteer as army physician there.

 Act in response to Blumentritts advice, Rizal wrote to governor General

Ramon Blanco, Despojul’s successor, on December 17, 1895, offering his
services as military doctor in Cuba.  Months passed and he received no
reply from Malacañang.  He gave up hope that his humanitarian offer
would ever receive government approval.

 When he least expected it, a letter from Governor Blanco dated July 1,

1896 arrived in Dapitan, notifying him of the acceptance of his offer.  This
letter, which reached him on July 30th, also stated that the politico-
 military commanderof Dapitan would give him a pass so that he could come
to Manila, where he would be given a safe-conduct to Spain, and there the
Minister of War will assign you to the Army of Operations in Cuba, detailed
to the Medical Crops.

 Once more, he was going to travel- to Europe and then to Cuba.  It was with
this joyous thought of resuming his travels that he wrote his heart-warming
poem El  Canto del Viajero (The Song of the Traveler).  This was published in
El Renacimiento on December 29, 1903

El Canto del Viajero

por José Rizal y Alonso

(Original text in Spanish)

Hoja seca que cuela indecisa

y arrebata violente turbión,
asi vive en la tierra el viajero,
sin norte, sin alma, sin patria ni amor.

Busca ansioso doquiera la dicha
y la dicha se aleja fugaz:
¡vana sombra que burla su anhelo! ...
¡por ella el viajero se lanza a la mar!

Impelido por mano invisible

vagara confín en confín;
los recuerdos le harán compañia
de seres queridos, de un día felíz.

Una tumba quizá en el desierto

hallará, dulce asilo de paz,
de su patria y del mundo olvidado ...
¡Descanse tranquilo, tras tanto penar !
 Y le envidian al triste viajero
cuando cruza la tierra veloz ...
¡Ay! no saben que dentro del alma
existe un vacio de falta el amor!

Volverá el peregrino a su patria

y a sus lares tal vez volverá,
y hallará por doquier nieve y ruina
amores perdidos, sepulcros, no más.

Vé, Viajero, prosigue tu senda,

extranjero en tu propio país;
deja a otros que canten amores,
los otros que gocen; tu vuelve a partir.

Vé, viajero, no vuelvas el rostro,

que no hay llanto que siga al adiós;
vé, viajero, y ahoga tu penas;
que el mundo se burla de ajeno dolor.
 Awit ng Manlalakbay

ni Dr. José Rizal

(Tagalog version of “El Canto del Viajero”)

Tuyong dahong lumilipad sa kung saang hindi alam,

Sinisiklot dito’t doon ng bugso ng biglang ulan;
Ganyan dito sa daigdig ang buhay ng maglalakbay,
Ni patnubay, sigla… wala; at wala ring sinta’t bayan.

Kahit saan, kapalara’y mapilit na hinahanap,

Yaon nama’y lumalayong buong bilis, tumatakas…
Ang aninong mapagkunwa, sa nasa’y may panghahamak;
Dahil dito, maglalakbay – natataboy nga sa dagat.

Sa udyok ng tanging kamay na di naman nakikita,

Ginagawa’y maglagalag sa lupaing iba’t iba;
Siya’y walang kaulayaw kundi mga alaala
Ng katotong mga mahal at araw na maligaya.

Sa may ilang, isang libing ang kaypala’y matagpuan,

Na ampunang sakdal-tamis, lipos ng kapayapaan;
Limot na ng sintang lupa’t gayon din ng daigdigan.
Mamahinga nawa siya matapos na mahirapan!

Sa lungkuting maglalakbay, sila’y pawang naiinggit

Kapag siya ay matuling bumabagtas sa daigdig;
Hindi nila nalalamang sa kalul’wang walang imik,
Mayro’n doong isang guwang; kulang dito ay pag-ibig.

Magbabalik ang lagalag sa kaniyang sintang lupa,

At marahil sa kaniyang tahanan ma’y muwing kusa;
Magtatagpo niya roon, kahit saan: bubog, giba,
Nangasayang na pag-ibig, mga libing… Wala na nga!
 Lumakad ka, maglalakbay; ituloy ang iyong landas.
Tagaibang-lupa ikaw sa bayan mong kapuspalad.
Bayaan mong tanang iba ay umawit ng pagliyag,
At iba pa’y mangalugod; bumalik ka sa pagtulak.

Maglalakbay, lumakad ka; h’wag lilingon kaunti man.

Walang luhang sumusunod sa pagbanggit ng paalam.
Maglalakbay, lumakad ka; lunurin mong kahirapan.
Nanlilibak ang daigdig sa ibang may kahapisan

The Song of the Traveller

by Jose Rizal

Like to a leaf that is fallen and withered,

Tossed by the tempest from pole unto pole ;
hus roams the pilgrim abroad without purpose,
Roams without love, without country or soul.

Following anxiously treacherous fortune,

Fortune which e 'en as he grasps at it flees ;
Vain though the hopes that his yearning is seeking,
Yet does the pilgrim embark on the seas !

Ever impelled by the invisible power,

Destined to roam from the East to the West ;
Oft he remembers the faces of loved ones,
Dreams of the day when he, too, was at rest.

Chance may assign him a tomb on the desert,

Grant him a final asylum of peace ;
Soon by the world and his country forgotten,
God rest his soul when his wanderings cease !

Often the sorrowing pilgrim is envied,

Circling the globe like a sea-gull above ;
 Little, ah, little they know what a void
Saddens his soul by the absence of love.

Home may the pilgrim return in the future,

Back to his loved ones his footsteps he bends ;
Naught wìll he find but the snow and the ruins,
Ashes of love and the tomb of his friends,

Pilgrim, begone ! Nor return more hereafter,

Stranger thou art in the land of thy birth ;
Others may sing of their love while rejoicing,
Thou once again must roam o'er the earth.

Pilgrim, begone ! Nor return more hereafter,

Dry are the tears that a while for thee ran ;
Pilgrim, begone ! And forget thine affliction,
Loud laughs the world at the sorrows of man.
THEY ASK ME FOR VERSES
( MI PIDEN VERSOS)
By Dr. Jose Rizal

They bid me strike the lyre

so long now mute and broken,
but not a note can I waken
nor will my muse inspire!
She stammers coldly and babbles
when tortured by my mind;
she lies when she laughs and thrills
as she lies in her lamentation,
for in my sad isolation
my soul nor frolics nor feels.

There was a time, ’tis true,

but now that time has vanished
when indulgent love or friendship
called me a poet too.
Now of that time there lingers
hardly a memory,
as from a celebration
some mysterious refrain
that haunts the ears will remain
of the orchestra’s actuation.

A scarce-grown plant I seem,

uprooted from the Orient,
where perfume is the atmosphere
and where life is a dream.
O land that is never forgotten!
And these have taught me to sing:
the birds with their melody,
the cataracts with their force
and, on the swollen shores,
the murmuring of the sea.

While in my childhood days

I could smile upon her sunshine,
I felt in my bosom, seething,
a fierce volcano ablaze.
A poet was I, for I wanted
with my verses, with my breath,
to say to the swift wind: ‘Fly
and propagate her renown!
Praise her from zone to zone,
from the earth up to the sky!’

I left her! My native hearth,

a tree despoiled and shriveled,
no longer repeats the echo
of my old songs of mirth.
I sailed across the vast ocean,
craving to change my fate,
not noting, in my madness,
that, instead of the weal I sought,
the sea around me wrought
the spectre of death and sadness.
 The dreams of younger hours,
love, enthusiasm, desire,
have been left there under the skies
of that fair land of flowers.
Oh, do not ask of my heart
that languishes, songs of love!
For, as without peace I tread
this desert of no surprises,
I feel that my soul agonizes
and that my spirit is dead.

• Jose Rizal has always been an acclaimed poet after his

martyrdom. Zealous  poets and writers were inspired by Rizal’s
works in every generation. Freedom of expression in whatever
artistic and literary genres reveal Filipino patriotism in the midst
of rejection and persecution.

• Jose Rizal’s poem was written while he was a member of Circulo

Hispano Filipino.  Me Piden Versos (They Asked Me for Verses)
reflected how sad it was for him to have the ability to steer
emotions through his poems yet stifled and muted by the powerful
and oppressive Spaniards
“THROUGH EDUCATION OUR MOTHERLAND RECIEVES
LIGHT”
(Por La Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria)
Dr. Jose P. Rizal

“Through Education Our Motherland Receives Light”

-Dr Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda
The vital breath of prudent Education
Instills a virtue of enchanting power;
She lifts the motherland to highest station
And endless dazzling glories on her shower.
And as the zephyr's gentle exhalation
Revives the matrix of the fragrant flower,
So education multiplies her gifts of grace;
With prudent hand imparts them to the human race.

For her a mortal-man will gladly part

With all he has; will give his calm repose;
For her are born all science and all art,
That brows of men with laurel fair enclose.
As from the towering mountain's lofty heart
The purest current of the streamlet flows,
So education without stint or measure gives
Security and peace to lands in which she lives.

Where Education reigns on lofty seat

Youth blossoms forth with vigor and agility;
He error subjugates with solid feet,
And is exalted by conceptions of nobility.
 She breaks the neck of vice and its deceit;
Black crime turns pale at Her hostility;
The barbarous nations She knows how to tame,
From savages creates heroic fame.

And as the spring doth sustenance bestow

On all the plants, on bushes in the mead,
Its placid plenty goes to overflow
And endlessly with lavish love to feed
The banks by which it wanders, gliding slow,
Supplying beauteous nature's every need;
So he who prudent Education doth procure
The towering heights of honor will secure.

From out his lips the water, crystal pure,

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

Within the breast of wretched humankind

She lights the living flame of goodness bright;
The hands of fiercest criminal doth bind;
And in those breasts will surely pour delight
Which seek her mystic benefits to find,
Those souls She sets aflame with love of right.
It is a noble fully-rounded Education
That gives to life its surest consolation.
 And as the mighty rock aloft may tower
Above the center of the stormy deep
In scorn of storm, or fierce Sou'wester's power,
Or fury of the waves that raging seep,
Until, their first mad hatred spent, they cower,
And, tired at last, subside and fall asleep, --
So he that takes wise Education by the hand,
Invincible shall guide the reigns of motherland.

On sapphires shall his service be engraved,

A thousand honors to him by his land be granted:
For in their bosoms will his noble sons have saved
Luxuriant flowers his virtue had transplanted:
And by the love of goodness ever lived,
The lords and governors will see implanted
To endless days, the Christian Education,
Within their noble, faith-enrapture nation.

And as in early morning we behold

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

 Rizal wrote this poem in April 1, 1876

 5th year in bachelor of Arts

 At the age of fifteen (15 yrs of age)

 It was written in Ateneo de Municipal in Manila

 These poem is for Every Filipino people.

 The poem was written while the Philippines were under the rule of the
Spanish government.

Meaning

 He recounts the demand for sacrifices to obtain an education, and the

rewards- a pleasure in living, the avenue to truth, goodness and honor.

 It showed the important of religion in education

 Encouraging his people to acquire virtue and enlightenment.

 He resolutely opposed the pathway of violence and clung education not

only in the theory but by his example

 Stressed the noble benefits of an enlightened citizen an aura of peace,

youthful, usefulness, the antidote to crime and vice determination in
government humanized men.

 Poem focus about education

 He indicates here how he values education. That out of his fervent love for
our motherland, education seems for him a away to us to extent our deep
and warm gratitude to every wonder that we receive from her everyday.
FAVORITE PART OF RIZAL

And the like golden sun of the morn

Whose rays resplendent shedding gold,

And like fair aura of gold and red

She overspread her colors bold;

Such true education prouding gives

The pleasure of virtue to young and old

And sge enlightens our motherland and dear

As she offers endlessly grow and luster

Reflection

 The poem tells us how education is important to every human.

 This poem proved that he valued education so much that may give the
power of the country to survive from any forces in the struggles of  societal
freedom . Through education, it creates the virtue of power to human race.
This gives security and peace to the motherland as the Filipinos would learn
the sciences and arts as the basis to calm down the life of the society.

 On how to developed our own motherland.

 A nation where educated people out numbers uncivilized ones, excavates

treasure more cherished than any stones of the earth.

 Education is that one trains people.

 The poem simply tells us don’t lose hope.

 To become an eye opener.

 Strong soul and mind.

 To The Child Jesus ( Al Nino Jesus )
• was written in Spanish by Jose Rizal in 1875 at the age of 14.

• short poem with eight verses only which was actually according to the
Spanish standard of writing poems.

• a belief religious ode which expressed his devotion as a child to

Catholicism.

To The Child Jesus

How God-Child has thou come

To earth in cave forlom?

Does Fortune now decide Thee

When thou art scarcely born?

Ah, woe! Celestial King,

Who mortal from dost keep

Woulds’t rather than be Sovereign

Be shepherd of Thy Sheep?

To the Filipino Youth

( A La Juventud Filipina)
 By: Jose Rizal
In year 1879 at UST
 Liceo Artistico- Literario (Artistic- Literary Lyceum) of
Manila
 Rizal was 18 years old
 Submitted his poem entitled “A la Juventud Filipina”
 The board of judges is composed of Spaniards
 Silver pen, feather- shaped and decorated with a gold
ribbon
The winning poem of Rizal is a classic Philippine literature for
two reason:
 It was the first great poem in Spanish written by a Filipino,
whose merit was recognized by Spanish literary
authorities.
 It expressed for the first time the nationalistic concept
that the Filipinos , and not the foreigners were the “fair
hope of the fatherland”.

TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH

( A La Juventud Filipina)
Hold high the brown serene,
 O youth, where now you stand.

Let the bright sheen

Of your grace be seen,

Fair hope of my fatherland!

Come now, thou genius grand,

And bring down inspiration;

With thy mighty hand,

Shifter than the winds volation,

Raise the eager mind to higher station.

Come down with pleasing light

Of art and science to the fight,

O youth, and there untie

The chains that heavy lie,

Your spirit free to blight.

See how inflaming zone

Amid the shadows throne,

The Spaniard’s holy hand

A crown’s resplendent band

Proffers to this Indian land.

 
 Thou, who now wouldst rise

On wings of rich empires,

Seek from Olympians skies

Songs of sweetest strain,

Softer than ambrosial rain;

Thou, whose voice divine

Rival’s philomel’s refrain,

And with varied line

Through the night benign

Frees mortality from pain.

Thou, who by sharp strife

Wakest thy mind to life;

And the memory bright

Of thy genius’ light

Makest immortal in its strength;

And thou, in accents clear

Of phoebus, to apollos dear;

Or by the brush’s magic art

 Takest from nature’s store a part,

To fix it on the simple canvas’ length.

Go forth, and then the sacred fire

Of thy genius to the laurel may aspire;

To spread around the fame,

And in victory acclaim,

Through wider spheres the human name.

  

Day, o happy day,

Fair Filipinas, for thy land!

So bless the power day

That places in thy way

This favor and this fortune grand.

 
To the Virgin Mary
(A La Virgen Maria)
Why did Jose Rizal wrote the poem to Virgin Mary?
  He wrote it as a contemplation of the Virgin Mary, who
endured suffering as a human being but who, while seated
in heaven as the mother of God, is able to listen, to
understand, and respond to prayers from human beings
who are in pain.
 Jose Rizal was a Marian devotee and even carved a statue
of the Virgin Mary when he was a young boy.
When Is the poem written?
 It was said to have been written in DECEMBER 3, 1876
while Rizal was studying in Ateneo Municipal De Manila
when he was about 15 years old.
Meaning of the poem by Jose Rizal
 This poem is all about LOVE. Its meaning is that love can
conquer fear, even when it comes to death and that the
tough times can lead to the ultimate freedom.

To the Virgin Mary

(A La Virgen Maria)
 Mary , sweet peace, solace dear

Of pained mortal! You’re the fount

Whence emanates the stream of succor,

That without cease our soil fructifies.

From thy throne, from heaven high,

Kindly hear my sorrowful cry!

And may thy shining veil protect

My voice that rises with rapid flight.

Thou art my Mother, Mary, pure;

Thou’ll be the fortress of my life

Thou’ll be my guide on this angry sea.

If ferociously vice pursues me,

If in my pains death harasses me,

Help me, and drive away my woes!

Interpretation of the Poem

First stanza:
  It is clearly in praise of the Virgin Mary, whom Rizal says in
this verse is the reason for a prosperous yield, and without
the help of whom no hardworking man can prosper. His
high regard for the Virgin Mary is evident in these four
lines.
Second stanza:
 These next four lines are more straight to the point. He
prays to Mary who sits he imagines is her glorious throne
above, and begs her to hear his plea. This indicates a sense
of eagerness and desperation. “ my voice that rises with
rapid flight” signifies a sense of urgency to the words in his
sorrowful cry.
Last stanza:
 The last stanza sounds more like prayer. It is evident in
these verses that even though Rizal was still on such a
young age, he had felt and foreseen that life to him would
be difficult.

TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS

B Y: D R . J O S E R I Z A L
TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS
  February 22,1889

 Requested by Marcelo H. del Pilar

 Written in Tagalog (London)

The story behind this letter is as follows:

 On December 12,1888, a group of 20 young women from Malolos

petitioned Gov. Gen. Weyler for permission to open a “night school” so
that they could study Spanish under Teodoro Sandiko

 Spanish parish priest Garcia openly expressed his opposition to the idea,
the Gov. Gen. turned down the petition.

 This incident caused a great stir in the Philippines and Spain.

Background

 3 Conditions:

1. Morning School

2. Women will pay for their expenses

3. Under Senora Guadalupe Reyes

RIZAL DISCUSSES THE RIGHTFUL DUTIES AND

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FILIPINO MOTHER
 Raise your children close to the image of the true God….Awaken and
prepare the mind of the child for every good and desirable idea ----love for
honor, a sincere and firm character, a clear mind, clean conduct, noble
actions, love for one’s fellowmen, and respect for God. Teach these to your
 children…Teach your children to guard and love their honor, to love their
fellowmen and their native land, and to perform their duties. Tell them
repeatedly to prefer death with honor to life is dishonor. They should
imitate the women of Sparta….The country should not expect honor and
prosperity as long as the education of the child is defective, as long as the
women who raise the children are enslaved and ignorant.

R I Z A L A L S O G AV E T H E FO L LOW I N G A DV I C E TO
UNMARRIED WOMEN:
Why does not a young woman ask of the man she is going to
love for a noble and honorable name, a manly heart that can
protect her weaknesses, a noble mind that will not permit him
to be the father of slaves? Instill in his mind activity and
industry, noble behavior, worthy sentiments, and do not
surrender your young womanhood to a weak and timid heart.
When she becomes a wife, she should help her husband in
every difficulty, encourage him, share with him all perils,
console him and drive away his woes, always bearing in mind
that a heroic heart can endure any suffering and no legacy is
as bitter as the legacy of infamy and slaver.
 In his letter to the young women of Malolos, Rizal showed his knowledge of
Hellenic history. He urged the Malolos women to emulate the Spartan
women, who were famous for their courage, fortitude, and patriotism. Like
Herodotus, he told the anecdote of a Spartan mother who handed a shield
to her son as he was marching to battle, with this admonition: Return home
victorious with or dead on the shield.
I N S U M M A R Y, R I Z A L’ S L E T T E R T O T H E Y O U N G
WOMEN OF MALOLOS FOCUSED ON FIVE
MAJOR POINTS (ZAIDE AND ZAIDE, 1999):
 Filipino mothers should teach their children love of God,
country, and fellowmen.
 Filipino mothers should be glad and honored, like the
Spartan mothers, to offer
their sons in defense of their country.
 Filipino women should know how to protect their dignity
and honor.
 Filipino women should retain their good racial values, but
should also educate themselves.
 Faith does not consist merely in reciting prayers and
wearing religious pictures but also in living as a true
Christian should, with good morals and manners.

20 WOMEN IN MALOLOS
 Elisea Tantoco Reyes
 Juaana Tantoco Reyes
 Leoncia Santos Reyes
 Olympia San Agustin Reyes
 Rufina T. Reyes
 Eugenia Mendoza Tanchangco
 Aurea Mendoza Tanchangco
 Basilia Villarino Tantoco
 Teresa Tiongson Tantoco
 Maria Tiongson Tantoco
 Anastacia Maclang Tiongson
 Basilia Reyes Tiongson
 Paz Reyes Tiongson
 Aleja Reyes Tiongson
 Mercedes Reyes Tiongson
 Agapita Reyes Tiongson
 Filomena Oliveros Tiongson
 Cecilia Oliveros Tiongson
 Feliciana Oliveros Tiongson
 Alberta Santos Uitangcoy