Rizal’s Education in University of

Santo Tomas ( 1877-1882 )

After graduating from the Ateneo,

Bachelor of Arts course during Spanish times
was equivalent only to the high school and
junior college course today, Rizal enrolled in
University of Santo Tomas taking the course
on Philosophy and Letters.
Mother’s opposition to higher education
 Doña Teodora, who new of what
happened to GOMBURZA vigorously
opposed the idea and told her husband:
◦ Don’t send him to Manila again; he knows
enough. If he gets to know more, the Spaniards
will cut off his head.
 Despite his mother’s tears, Paciano
accompany his younger brother to Manila
with the approval of Don Francisco.
UST during Rizal’s time.
 Life in UST
 This picture of the historic University of Santo Tomas
was taken shortly after its liberation from the Japanese
in World War II

The Library of the University of

Santo Tomas
 Rizal Enters the University
 He enrolled in Philosophy and Letter
because:
◦ (1) his father’s liked it and,
◦ (2) he was still uncertain as to what career to
pursue.
 He asked the advice of Father Pablo
Ramon, Rector of the Ateneo on the
choice of a career. During his first year term
in UST, Rizal also took up surveying and
agriculture at the Ateneo.
Rizal Finishes Surveying in Ateneo
 At the age of 17, he passed the final
examination in the surveying course but he
could not be granted the title as “perito
agrimensor” (expert surveyor) until he
was 21 years old. The title was issued to
him on November 25, 1881.
 Rizal Takes Up Medicine
 Having received the Ateneo Rector’s advice
to study medicine and wanted to treat the
failing eyesight of his mother, Rizal decided to
take up medicine.
 Romances with Other Girls
 Miss L.
◦ Rizal did not reveal her name.
◦ “A fair lady from Calamba with seductive and
attractive eyes.”
◦ After visiting her in her house several times, he
suddenly stopped his wooing, and the romance
died natural death
◦ Reasons for his change of heart:
 The sweet memory of Segunda was still fresh in his
head
 His father did not like the family of “Miss L”
 Leonor Valenzuela
◦ Nickname: Orang
◦ Daughter of Capitan Juan and Capitana Sanday
Valenzuela of Pagsanjan Laguna.
◦ “A tall girl with regal bearing.”
◦ Rizal was a welcome visitor in the Valenzuela
home, where he was the life of the social
parties because of his magical tricks.
◦ He sent her love notes with invisible ink.
◦ But, as with Segunda, he stopped short of
proposing marriage to Orang.
 Leonor Rivera
◦ Rizal’s cousin from Camiling,
Tarlac.
◦ Daughter of his uncle Antonio
Rivera
◦ A student from La Concordia
◦ “A frail, pretty girl tender as
budding flower with kindly, wistful eyes.”
◦ In her letter to Rizal, Leonor signed her name
as Taimis in order to hide their intimate
relationship from their parents and friends.
◦ They became engaged.
 A La Juventud Filipina
(To the Filipino Youth)
While at the University of Santo Tomas he
showed his literary prowess. He joined a
literary contest among mestizos and Filipinos
sponsored by the Liceo Artistico Literario
de Manila (Artistic-Literary Lyceum) in
1879. He submitted his poem “To The Filipino
Youth” and won the first prize, a feather
shaped silver pen decorated with a gold
ribbon.
 About the Poem
 In an exquisite verses, Rizal beseeched the
Filipino youth:
◦ (1) to rise from lethargy,
◦ (2) to let their genius fly swifter than the wind
and descend with art and science
◦ (3) to break the chains that have long bound
the spirit of the people
 A Classic in Philippine Literature
 This winning poem of Rizal is a classic in
Philippine literature because:
◦ (1) It was the first great poem in Spanish
written by a Filipino, whose merit was
recognized by Spanish literary authorities and,
◦ (2) It expressed his nationalistic concept that
the Filipino youth is the “fair hope of my
Motherland”.
 El Consejo de los Dioses
(The Council of Gods)
The following year, the Liceo sponsored
another competition celebrating the fourth
centenary of the death of Miguel de
Cervantes, the national poet of Spain, without
discrimination. The title of his play “El Consejo de
los Dioses” ( The Council of the Gods).
 The play in poetic prose which narrates the
meeting of the gods on mount Olympus,
presided over by Jupiter with goddesses as
to who the greatest poet was- Homer,
Virgil or Cervantes.
 The Style and Approach
 Jupiter was the final judge who measured the
values of each poet’s masterpiece. His
evaluation showed that all three works were
equal value:
The trumpet was awarded to Homer
the lyre to Virgil
the laurel to Cervantes
 As a result, Rizal got the first prize, consisting
of a gold ring, with the bust of Cervantes
carved in cameo on top.
 Other Literary Works
 Junto Al Pasig (Beside the Pasig) – zarzuela
◦ On 1880 , when he was 19 years old; the Jesuits
asked Rizal to collaborate in the preparations for
the annual feast of Immaculate Concepcion.
◦ The oppressive racial discrimination at the
University of Santo Tomas gave Rizal an idea for his
one-act-play “Junto al Pasig” ( Beside the Pasig ).
◦ The scene of the zarzuela or musical play showed
Filipinism, manifesting a nostalgia for the country’s
past or the period previous to the arrival of the
Spaniards, a land which now” fall off under the
power of foreign people”.
◦ He satirized the priest in the person of a devil who
sought adoration, and he described Spain as
impious and pictured her as the cause of the
unhappiness of his once rich and happy country.
When the play was staged the Jesuits simply
laughed at the clever satire, but some friars took it
as a grave insult.
 A Filipinas – sonnet
◦ For the album of the Society of Sculptors
◦ In this sonnet, Rizal urged all Filipino artists to
glorify the Philippines
 Abd-el-Azis y Mahoma – poem
◦ It was declaimed by an Atenean Manuel Fernandez
in honor of the Ateneo’s Patroness
 Al M.R.P. Pablo Ramon – poem
◦ An expression of Rizal’s affection to Father Pablo
Ramon, the Ateneo rector, who had been so kind
and helpful to him
 Rizal’s Visit to Pakil
 In the summer month of May, 1881, when he
was still a medical student at UST, Rizal went
on a pilgrimage (with Saturnina, Maria,
Trinidad and their female friends) at the town
of Pakil, famous shrine of the Birhen Maria
de los Dolores (Turumba)
 People were dancing in the streets during the
procession in honor of the Virgin.
 He was infatuated by a pretty college girl
named Vicenta Ybardolaza who skilfully
plays the harp.
Side Trip to Pagsanjan
 Rizal and his party made a side trip to the
neighbouring town of Pagsanjan because:
◦ It was the native town of Leonor Valenzuela,
one of his girl friends in Manila and,
◦ To see the world famed Pagsanjan Falls
 Champion of the Filipino Students
 Rizal was the champion of the Filipino students in their
frequent fights against the arrogant Spanish students.
Hostility between these two groups of students
exploded in angry street rumbles where Rizal himself
participated.
 In 1880, he founded a secret society of Filipino students
in UST called Compañerismo whose members were
called Companions of Jehu.
 In one of group’s fierce encounters with the Spanish
students, Rizal was wounded on the head. He was
immediately brought to the boarding house while
Leonor Rivera tenderly washed and dressed his wound.
 Unhappy Days at the UST
 Rizal was unhappy at this Dominican institution
of higher learning because:
◦ (1) the Dominican professors were hostile to him,
◦ (2) the Filipino students were racially discriminated
against by the Spaniards, and
◦ (3) the method of instruction was obsolete and
repressive.
 Academic Performance in UST
 Because of the unfriendly attitude of his
professors, Rizal the most brilliant
graduate of the Ateneo, failed to win
scholastic honors.
 Although his grades in the first year of the
philosophy course were all “excellent,”
they were not impressive in the four
years of his medical course.
 Scholastic Records in UST
(1877-1882) Philosophy and Letters
Preparatory Course of Theology and Law (1877-1878)
Cosmology—Sobresaliente [Excellent; equivalent grade: 1.0]
Metaphysics—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
Theodicy—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
History of Philosophy—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
(1878-1879) Prepatory Course of Medicine
Advanced Physics—Aprovechado [Very Good: 1.5]
Advanced Chemistry—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
Advanced Natural History—Aprovechado [Very Good: 1.5]

(1878-1879) First Year of Medicine

General Anatomy and Histology—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
Descriptive Anatomy—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
Exercises of Osteology and Dissection—Bueno [Good: 2.0]

(1879-1880) Second Year of Medicine

General Anatomy and Histology II—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
Descriptive Anatomy II—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
Exercises of Dissection—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
Physiology, Private and Public Hygiene—Bueno [Good: 2.0]
 (1880-1881) Third Year of Medicine
General Pathology, Its Clinic, and Pathologic Histology—Aprobado [Passed: 3.0]
Therapeutics, Medical Matter and Art of Prescribing—Sobresaliente [Excellent: 1.0]
Surgical Anatomy, Operations, External Medical Applications and Bandages—Bueno
[Good: 2.0]
(1881-1882) Fourth Year of Medicine
Medical Pathology—Notable [Very Good: 1.5]
Surgical Pathology—Notable [Very Good: 1.5]
Obstetrics, Sicknesses of Women and Children—Notable [Very Good: 1.5]
Siphilography—Notable [Very Good: 1.5]
 Decision to Study Abroad
 After finishing the fourth year of his
medical course, Rizal decided to study in
Spain because:
◦ He could no longer endure the rampant
bigotry, discrimination, and hostility in UST.
◦ He wanted to finish his medical studies.
◦ He sought to fulfill his secret mission.
 He did not seek permission from his
parents and his beloved Leonor Rivera
to study abroad.