CHAPTER 1: ADVENT OF A NATIONAL
HERO
 The Birth of a Hero – 1
 Rizal’s Parent – 2
 The Rizal Children – 3
 Rizal’s Ancestry – 5
 The Surname Rizal – 6
 The Rizal Home – 6
 A Good and Middle-Class Family – 7
 Home Life of the Rizals – 7
CHAPTER 2: CHILDHOOD YEARS IN
CALAMBA
 Calamba, the Hero’s Town – 9
 Earliest Childhood Memories – 11
 The Hero’s First Sorrow – 12
 Devoted Son of the Church – 12
 Pilgrimage to Antipolo – 12
 The Story of the Moth – 13
 Artistic Talents – 15
 First Poem by Rizal – 16
 First Drama by Rizal – 16
 Rizal as Boy Magician – 17
 Lakeshore Reveries – 17
 Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood – 18
CHAPTER 3: EARLY CHILDHOOD IN
CALAMBA AND BINAN
 The Hero’s First Teacher – 20
 Jose Goes to Binan – 21
 First Day in Binan School – 21
 First School Brawl – 22
 Painting Lessons in Binan – 22
 Daily Life in Binan – 23
 Best Student in School – 23
 End of Binan Schooling – 23
 Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za – 24
 Injustice to Hero’s Mother – 25
CHAPTER 4: SCHOLASTIC TRIUMPHS AT
ATENEO DE MANILA
 Rizal Enters the Ateneo – 27
 Jesuit System of Education – 28
 Rizal’s First Year in Ateneo (1872-23) – 29
 Summer Vacation (1873) – 30
 Second Year in Ateneo (1873-74) – 30
 Prophecy of Mother’s Release – 30
 Teenage interest in Reading – 31
 Third Year in Ateneo (1874-75) – 32
 Fourth Year in Ateneo (1975-76) – 32
 Last Year in Ateneo (1876-77) – 33
 Graduation with Highest Honor – 33
 Extra-Curricular Activities in Ateneo – 34
 Sculptural Works in Ateneo – 35
 Anecdotes on Rizal, the Atenean – 35
 Poems Written in Ateneo – 36
 My First Inspiration – 37
 Rizal’s Poems on Education – 39
 Rizal’s Religious Poems – 42
 Dramatic Work in Ateneo – 43
 First Romance of Rizal – 43
CHAPTER 5: MEDICAL STUDIES AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF STO. TOMAS (1877-1882)
 Mother’s Opposition to Higher Education – 46
 Rizal Enters the University – 47
 Finishes Surviving Course in Ateneo (1878) –
47
 Romances with Other Girls – 48
 Victim of Spanish Officer’s Brutality – 49
 To the Filipino Youth (1879) – 49
 The Council of the Gods (1880) – 51
 Other Literary Works – 52
 Rizal’s Visit to Pakil and Pagsanjan – 53
 Champion of Filipino Students – 54
 Unhappy Days at the UST – 55
 Decision to Study Abroad – 56
CHAPTER 6: IN SUNNY SPAIN (1882-1885)
 Rizal’s Secret Mission – 57
 Secret Departure for Spain – 58
 Singapore – 59
 From Singapore to Colombo – 59
 First Trip Through Suez Canal – 60
 Naples and Marseilles – 61
 Barcelona – 61
 Amor Patrio – 62
 Manila Moves to Madrid – 63
 Life in Madrid – 63
 Romance with Consuelo Ortiga y Perez – 64
 They Ask Me For Verses – 65
 Rizal as Lover of Books – 66
 Rizal’s First Visit to Paris (1883) – 67
 Rizal as a Mason – 68
 Financial Worries – 69
 Rizal’s Salute to Luna and Hidalgo – 69
 Rizal Involved in Student Demonstrations – 74
 Studies Completed in Spain – 76
CHAPTER 7: PARIS TO BERLIN (1885-87)
 In Gay in Paris (1885-86) – 78
 Rizal as Musician – 79
 In Historical Heidelberg – 80
 To the Flowers of Heidelberg – 80
 With Pastor Ullmer at Wilhelmsfeld – 82
 First Letter to Blumentritt – 83
 Fifth Centenary of Heidelberg University – 83
 In Leipzig and Dresden – 84
 Rizal Welcomed in Berlin’s Scientific Circles –
84
 Rizal’s Life in Berlin – 85
 Rizal on German Women – 86
 German Customs – 86
 Rizal’s Darkest Winter – 87