Rizal’s Philosophies as

Revealed Through the Noli,

the Fili and Other Writings
• Rizal wrote the novels for
the noble purpose of
redeeming his people
from their miserable
conditions.

• His main purposes were

to expose the social
malady affecting the
country, and to awaken
and develop the national
consciousness of the
people.
• The Noli Me Tangere (Social Cancer) and the El
Filibusterismo boldly exposed and criticized
Philippine social life during the 19th century.

• The novels exposed the symptoms of the

cancer that were eroding Philippine society; the
abuses of the friars and the civil guards, the
corruption in the government, defective
educational system, the hypocrisy and apathy
of some Filipinos and the decadence of social
order.
❑In the Noli Rizal portrayed the substance and
character of the contemporary situation in the
Philippines.

❑He told his friend Blumentritt, “ The Filipinos

will find in Noli the history of the last 100
years”.

❑The events that I have recounted are all true

and have actually happened.
• Dr. Jose Rizal stresses the need to understand a
people’s history and culture, trace their development
and pinpoint the barriers to their growth.

• A country can be analyzed by looking into its major

institutions: the family, the school, the church and the
state.

• Rizal maintains that in order to read the destiny of a

people, it is necessary to open the book of its past.
Rizal’s Thoughts on Filipino Culture

• Socrates once said, “An unexamined life is not worth

living.” This statement calls for one to evaluate his
weaknesses and strength before attempting to
comprehend his surroundings.

• Rizal’s first novel is an expose. It is his idea to present

each social institution on the pedestal of scrutiny as a
means of evaluating the nation’s values, which
strengthen it, and its vices, which contribute to its
weaknesses.
• This discussion will attempt to examine
social institutions up-close in the light of
Dr. Rizal’s ideals and principles.
• Some Filipino values and beliefs manifested in Dr. Rizal’s novels
are:

• Non-rationalism. A philosophy in life that revolves around the idea

that man has to adopt himself to nature and to forces outside of
himself.

• It is an uncritical acceptance, reverence and protection of tradition

and rituals. Non-rationalism includes resistance to scientific
methods, unswerving loyalty to the group, and unquestioning
obedience to authority.

• Rationalism. A frame of mind, which is scientific, future-oriented

and continuously guided by experimentation. It puts premium to
self-expression and creativity over group conformity and security.
• Personalism. An attitude of taking personal
factors that guarantee intimacy, warmth,
security of kinship and friendship in getting
things done.

• Impersonalism. This is a depersonalized

standardized or institutionalized function of
position and not the person occupying it
• Particularism. An individual’s devotion to sub-
groups comprising of relatives, friends,
colleagues, associates, religious affiliates or
members of his ethnic or regional group.

• Universalism. This pertains to an advancement

of collective or national good over personal, or
regional welfare.
Points to ponder:

1. Who among the characters in the two Novels best

personify the above-mentioned beliefs?

2. What are the positive effects the above principles

could bring to society?

3. What are the downsides to these principles?

4. What harm could these beliefs bring to

development?
Rizal’s Thoughts On The Family

• The family is the foundation of society. From this

institution, a child absorbs positive and negative values
and attitude that act upon his survival, socio-economic
status and social mobility. Here are some of Dr. Rizal’s
thoughts on the family:

• The tragic accounts of Elias, Capitan Pablo, Sisa, Don

Rafael and Ma. Clara point to a common factor that can
drive an individual to commit acts that are either good
or bad. Strong family ties is a value typical of Filipinos.
• When one or more members of the family is wronged,
the next of kin cry out for revenge. Don Rafael’s
imprisonment, death, exhumation, the desecration of
his remains, the denigration of his memory impelled
Ibarra to hit Father Damaso, nearly killing him.

• Elias’ grandparents were social outcasts.

• The rise of Balat as the dreaded outlaw is attributed to

the murder of his uncle and the rape-slaying of his sister.
• Capitan Pablo was a peaceful man from a
middle-class family.

• His daughter was abused by a priest and

in avenging the injustice suffered by her,
Pablo and his sons became outlaws.

• When they were caught, both brothers

were tortured and killed. Pablo became
the leader of the tulisanes.
• Sisa’s account is the most unfortunate of all.

• Having married a drunkard and a gambler, she lost all

her fortune so she was left with no choice but to send
her children to work in the parish.

• Crispin, the younger son was accused of stealing from

the treasury, was tortured and killed. Sisa in turn
became insane.
Points to ponder:

1. What are the things Rizal was pointing to through

examples of the family he gave in his two novels?

2. Why do you think he gave these examples?

3. What role does the family play to contribute to the

betterment of society?
– Is the family of today still on track in fulfilling these
goals?
On Religion and The Church
Man in his limitations tries to
find meaning in life. He tries
to explain such things as
death, the meaning of life
and death.
• Man searches the destiny
that awaits him after his
death and he works hard in
pursuit of happiness.
• He assigns to mysteries and
miracles events beyond his
comprehension.
• Religion came from the Latin term religare which
means to bind again. For Christians, religion makes
man reconcile or be reunited with his creator.

• Rizal believes in the necessity of bringing out the best

in society but he also exposes how religion kept men
ignorant and in abject slavery. Ultimately, it is religion
that corrupts the leaders of places like San Diego.
• The classical philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle show how religion interlinks with politics
while modern political thinkers segregate politics from
religion and seek to uncover one’s ulterior motives
behind religion.

• Voltaire departed from the teachings of Socrates

which was highly ethical, to one which is pragmatic
and empirical. He whetted away at speculations,
imaginations and emotions.
• He recognized the effectiveness of
religion as a tool for unity of a state or
as an instrument for the easy conquest
of a nation.

• He said, “If God doesn’t exist, then we

would have invented him.”

• Karl Marx considered religion as the

opium of the masses. Bakunin went
further by saying, “If God really exists,
it would be necessary to abolish him.”
• He justified his stand by citing that religion debases
and corrupts people.

• For him, religion destroys reason (the necessary

instrument for human emancipation) and reduces
man to imbecility which is the essential condition to
slavery.

• San Diego is a showcase of conflict between the

church and the state.

• Like any community, the people are peace-loving,

simple and naïve to social and political issues.
• They are ultra-religious to the point of fanaticism.

• They also have their share of carpet-baggers, lackeys

and nonconformists with the latter branded as
filibusteros or loco.

• At the laying of the cornerstone of the school-house,

Tasio mused:

“…in those remote ages, men showed faith in some

beings who professed to be ministers of God and who
established a direct communication between the
Creator and his creation.
These men assigned to themselves the
letters M.R.P. (Muy Reverendo Padre).
They are always right. They were a
group by themselves who professed to
be able to cause God to come down to
earth by uttering some mysterious
words.

They made the rest of the people believe,

that their words were God’s and that
they enjoy a daily meal of his flesh and
blood and cause the people to do the
same occasionally.”
• How friars enriched themselves can be gleaned in the
conversation between Fr. Sibyla and his superior.

• They were discussing their sales of religious objects

and indulgences when the old priest said. “ We will
enjoy power while the people believe in us.”

• It was clear from the beginning that the friars were

playing on the people’s ignorance.
• No example is more appropriate than what happened
to Doña Pia.

• Having no child with Capitan Tiago, she was told by

Padre Damaso to make daily novenas and devotions to
different saints.

• A “miracle” happened when she gave birth to a baby

girl.

• Everyone of course knew that the child she conceived

was that of Father Damaso’s. This is a classic example
of blind allegiance.
• Although Rizal pointed to religion as the cause of the
many sufferings of his people, and he was
disappointed with the hypocrisies and corruption of
the friars she remained steadfast in his faith.

• In Noli Me Tangere, he portrays Tasio entering the

church when nobody was around, fervently prayong to
God without the aid of religious objects.

• Here are some reaffirmation of Rizal’s faith expressed

through some Noli characters:
• Through Ibarra: “… the priest I forgive, on account of
the institution he represents which I wish respected
because it elevates society.”

• Through Elias: “.. but I believe in Him… there has been

great necessity in my life to pin my faith in God since I
have lost faith in man…”

• Through Tasio as he prays amidst the thunder and

storm, “Oh God, I know that you are not cruel. I know
that you are just. I know that you are the ultimate
God.”
Points to ponder:

1. What do you think were Rizal pointing out when he

created the various religious figures in his two novels?

3. What role does the Church play to contribute to the

betterment of society?

4. Is the Church of today still on track in fulfilling these

goals?
The School and Education
• Rizal affirmed his commitment to
education through the character of
Ibarra who went abroad in search
of it. Ibarra then comes back to
among others, establish a school
for the people of San Diego.
• Ibarra said, “ I desire the country’s
welfare, therefore I will build a
schoolhouse. I seek it by means of
instruction, by progressive
advancement, without light there is
no road.”
• Rizal’s literary works and private correspondence
abound with remarkable ideas on education.

• He believes that education was a lighthouse that

guided men to enjoy freedom and prosperity.

• To raise the level of education in his country, Rizal

constantly advised his countrymen and the members
of his family to acquire more knowledge.
• In a letter to one of his sisters, he said, “it is
regrettable that there in our country, the main
ornament of women almost always consists in dresses
and luxury but not in education.”

• One of the projects Rizal wished to establish was a

college that would respect academic freedom and
develop the potential of the students.

• He stressed that education would liberate the Filipinos

from ignorance and prepare them for the reforms and
freedom they had been aspiring for.
•
• In a manifesto he wrote while confined in Fort
Santiago, he emphasized the value of education when
he said, “ I place as a prior condition the education of
the people, that by means of instruction and industry,
they may have a personality of their own and make
themselves worthy of these liberties.”
• Here are excerpts from two poems he wrote as a high
school student:

• “Wise education is a mother of virtues. Where the

youth are wisely educated, they become vigorous and
their ideas are exalted.

• They become intolerant of error, break the neck of

vice, halt crime, tame the barbarous nation, and raise
the savage nations to a sober station.”
• “Wise education lights the living flame of virtue. When
education is nourished by the principles of religion, she
may walk toward the good and spread everywhere the
fruits of virtue. The country progresses because of
those whose goodness comes from a Christian
education.”

• “Wise education is complete and true, there is no

human suffering we cannot overcome.
•
• The educated citizen spreads his blessings among his
fellowmen. His examples make others climb the height
of honor. He faces the problems of his country and
guides its destiny.

• Through wise education, arts and science are born and

enduring peace is given to the motherland.

• Wise education exalts the human mind, enlightens the

motherland, lifts her to lofty seat of glory and offers
her endless glow.”
• He further said in the Noli, “ the school is
the basis of society; the school is the book
on which is written the future of the
nation.

• Show us the schools of people and we

shall show you what people they are.”
•
Points to ponder:

1. What are the positive effects education brings to an

individual?

2. What are the effects education brings to society?

3. Knowing the positive effects of education to our

country, what personal commitments to the nation
can you make as a student and as a citizen?
Other Points to ponder:

1. What role does religion play in educating people?

2. Is the interplay between education and religion

important in changing society?

3. What has studying in a Christian institution brought

to you as a human being?
•
The Motherland

• In a conversation with Elias at the

lake, Ma. Clara asks whether
herons have nests or not. Elias’
allegorical answer was “they must
have their nests or they may be so
unfortunate.”

• The longing for a country one can

call his own finds expression in the
Song of Maria Clara:
In one’s dear land are the hours so sweet.
All things smile at them the sunbeams greet.
Soft cooling breezes waft their fragrance meet;
Even death is sweet when love in full measures heat.
By soft arms circle in blissful rest;
One’s cheeks and eyes smile and waking life is blessed.
For one’s own native land even death is sweet,
Here all things smile as them the sunbeams greet;
Dead is all beauty, away the sunbeams flit,
Without home, without land, one’s life is incomplete.
Points to ponder:

1. What effects do you think does statelessness

bring to the minds of people?

2. How important is it in a person to have his

own homeland?
The Concept of World-Brotherhood

• Through Basilio Rizal said, “Science is

more eternal, more human, more
universal!… in a few centuries when
humanity will be enlightened and
freed, when there will be no longer
tyrants nor slaves, colonies nor
metropolis, when justice will reign and
man will be a citizen of the world, only
the cult of science will remain, the
word patriotism will sound like
fanaticism and whoever will praise
patriotic virtues will be isolated no
doubt like a dangerously sick person, a
menace to social harmony.”
• Through Simoun he said, “.. yet to reach that
state, it is necessary that there are no tyrants
nor slaves.

• It is necessary that man is free wherever he

goes, that he knows how to respect the right of
any man to his own individuality, and for this, it
is necessary that the social conscience be
horrified, it will declare the individual
conscience free.”
•
• “Neither obscurantism and fanaticism nor
oppression or superstitions ever bind nor have
they ever bound peoples.

• On the other hand, liberty, rights and love

group distinct races around the same standard,
one aspiration, one destiny.” (The Rizal-
Blumentritt Correspondence).
Points to ponder:

1. According to Rizal, what are the things that

hinder men from being united?

2. What did he suggest men do for them to

become united?

3. Can you cite a relevant world situation today?

On The Role Women Play in Society:
• Rizal’s Letter to the Young Women of Malolos

On December 12, 1888, a group of 20 (Zaide p.323;

Romero, in her book, mentions 21 young women,
p.117; Capino claims 22, p. 182) young women,
daughters of well-to-do citizens (Capino, p.182) of
Malolos petitioned Gov. Gen. Valeriano Weyler
(successor of Gov. Gen. Terrero) for permission to
open a “night school” so that they might study
Spanish under Teodoro Sandiko.
• The Spanish parish priest, Fr. Felipe Garcia, objected so
that the Gov. Gen. turned down the petition. However,
the young women, in defiance to the friar’s wrath,
bravely continued their petition for putting up the
school – a thing unheard of in the Philippines during
those times.

• They finally succeeded in obtaining government

approval to their project on condition that Señorita
Guadalupe Reyes should be their teacher. This incident
caused a great stir in the Philippines and in far away
Spain.
• Del Pilar, writing in Barcelona on February 17, 1889,
requested Rizal to send a letter in Tagalog to the brave
women of Malolos, to give them a boost in their task
of promoting their country’s welfare.

• Accordingly, Rizal, although busy in London annotating

(i.e., explain, add footnotes to) Morga’s book penned
his famous letter and sent it to Del Pilar for transmittal
to Malolos.
• In a letter dated February 22, 1889, he congratulated
the young women of Malolos for their exceptionally
courageous behavior. He delineated his profound (i.e.,
deep, reflective) ideas of the Filipino women Romero,
p. 118).
• Rizal praised the gentle manners of the young
Filipino women but he lamented their meekness and
submission to the commands and caprices of those
who called themselves “fathers of souls.” This fault he
attributed to “excessive goodness, humility, or perhaps
ignorance.”
• And like other Filipinos in Europe, he was happy to
learn that at last a group of young women in his
country had emerged to seek identity and dignity.

• They had realized that goodness did not consist in

blind obedience to the whims of the friars but in pure
consciousness of good judgment that would “only
obey what is reasonable and just.” Besides giving
needed advice to the ladies, Rizal said he hopes that
they would do everything they could to follow his
advice because it was they who could open the men’s
mind. Here are some timely good pieces of advice
given by Rizal (Capino, p. 182):
• Important indeed are the duties that women must
fulfill in order to relieve the country of her sufferings,
but they are not beyond the strength and character of
the Filipino women to perform.

• If she is a young woman, let the young man love her

not only for her beauty or the sweetness of her
disposition but also for the firmness of her character,
her lofty ideas that invigorate and encourage the weak
and timorous men or arouse brilliant ideas.
• The young woman should ask the man she is going to
love for a noble and honorable name, a manly heart
that can protect her weakness, a noble mind that will
not permit him to be the father of slaves.

• She must instill in his mind activity and industry, noble

behavior, worthy sentiments and not surrender her
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 than the legacy
of infamy and slavery.

• The women must raise their children close to the

image of the true God.
• They must awaken and prepare the mind of every
child for very good and desirable idea—love, honor,
sincere and firm character, clear mind, clean conduct,
noble action, love of one’s fellowmen, respect for God.
Teach these to your children.

• Because life is full of sorrows and perils, they must

fortify the character of their children against any
difficulty, strengthen their hearts against any danger.
• They must teach their children to guard and love their
honor, to love their native land, and perform their
duties. They must repeatedly tell them to prefer death
with honor to a life with dishonor.

• Rizal stressed that the country should not expect

honor and prosperity as long as the education of the
child is defective, so long as the women who raise the
children are enslaved and ignorant.

• Nothing can be drunk in a turbid and bitter spring. No

sweet thing can be picked from sour seed.
•
• Thoughts on the Letter:

• That the tyranny of some is possible only through

cowardice and negligence on the part of others.

• What makes one contemptible is lack of dignity and

abject (hopeless) fear of him who holds one in
contempt.
• Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so he
is; a man who does not think for himself and allowed
himself to be guided by the thought of another is like
the beast led by a halter (i.e., bridle or strap).
• He who loves his independence must first aid his
fellowman, because he who refuses protection to
others will find himself without it; the isolated rib in
the body is easily broken, but not so the broom made
of the ribs of the palm bound together.
•
• If the Filipina will not change her mode of being, let
her rear no more children, let her merely give birth to
them. She must cease to be the mistress of the home;
otherwise, she will unconsciously betray husband,
child, native land, and all.
• All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God
did not create man to be a slave; nor did he endow
him with intelligence to have him hoodwinked or
adorn him with reason to have him deceived by
others.

• It is not fatuous to refuse to worship one's equal, to

cultivate one's intellect, and to make use of reason in
all things. Fatuous is he who makes a god of him, who
makes brutes of others, and who strives to submit to
his whims all that is reasonable and just.
•
• Consider well what kind of religion they are teaching
you. See whether it is the will of God or according to
the teachings of Christ that the poor be succored (be
helped) and those who suffer alleviated (i.e.,
lightened).
• Consider what they preaching to you, the object of the
sermon, what is behind the masses, novenas, rosaries,
scapularies, images, miracles, candles, belts, etc. etc;
which they daily keep before your minds; ears and
eyes; jostling, shouting, and coaxing; investigate
whence they came and whiter they go and then
compare that religion with the pure religion of Christ
and see whether the pretended observance of the life
of Christ does not remind you of the fat milk cow or
the fattened pig, which is encouraged to grow fat nor
through love of the animal, but for grossly mercenary
motives.
• This letter constitutes amoral and civic code, not only
for women, but also for the men, the family, and for all
Filipinos.

Points to ponder:

• 1. What did Rizal suggest how women could help bring

about change in society?
• 2. How you now realized the importance of your role
in shaping society?
• 3. To the young women, what personal commitments
can you make?
•
• Rizal’s Idea on What A Government Should Be

• Through Isagani, Rizal said, “governments are made for

the good of the people, and in order to accomplish this
purpose properly, it has to follow the suggestions of the
citizens who are the ones who know best their needs.”

• “An immoral government corresponds to a demoralized

people, to an administration without a conscience, to
rapacious and servile citizens in the towns, bandits and
robbers in the mountains! Like master, like slaves. Like
government, like country.”
•
• Through Elias, “we should consider well to whom we
give such unlimited power and authority.

• So much power placed in human hands of ignorant

and willful men, men without moral training, without
proven honesty, is a weapon placed in the hands of a
madman let loose in an unarmed crowd.

• I admit, and I want to believe like you (Ibarra) that the

government needs this strong right arm, but it should
choose well from among the most worthy on itself
rather than receive it from the people, let it at least
show that it knows how to do so.”
• If you continue the system of banishments,
imprisonments, and sudden assaults for nothing, if you
will punish the Filipinos for your own faults, you will
make then desperate, you take away from them the
horror of revolutions and disturbances, you harden
them and excite them to fight…

• Treat the people well, teach them the sweetness of

peace so that they may adore it and maintain it.”
(Political and Historical Writings).
•
Points to ponder:

• 1. How should the government conduct itself as an

institution that plays a big role in society?

• 2. Can you cite current examples on how our

government reneged on its promised task?

• 3. As citizens, what should we do when the

government becomes unresponsive to the people’s
needs?
Rizal’s Thoughts on Revolution

• To the Marxists, revolution is a tragic necessity,

unavoidable because they believe that the ruling class
will never give up without a fight.

• As a realist, Rizal has been misconceived by his

detractors as indecisive.

• His novels sanctioned reforms even when he had

predicted and warned his readers on the inevitability
and necessity of revolution of pleas for reform went
unheeded.
• Rizal believes in the political theory of Locke and
Rousseau that revolution should be the last recourse
of an aggrieved people.

• He advocates revolution, which starts from godliness,

liberation of the people from superstitions and
freedom from ignorance through education, morality,
dignity, industry, justice and perseverance.
•
The idea of peaceful struggle

• The Noli Me Tangere expresses Rizal’s belief the

peaceful way of attaining independence. There, Elias
proposed the idea of revolution to Ibarra but Ibarra
rejected it because this would cost the lives of many.

• “If I ever see the multitude armed I would place myself

on the side of the government for in such a mob I
should not see my countrymen”
- Ibarra, Noli me Tangere
• Speaking to Ibarra Elias said,
• “ I would tell you to think well about what you are going to do.
You are going to start a war, for you have money and brains and
will easily find many helping hands; unfortunately, many are
discontented. But in this fight which you propose to start, the
defenseless and the innocent will suffer most.
• The same sentiments which a month ago led me to ask you for
reforms, lead me now to ask you to reflect further. Our country
does not think of independence from the motherland; she asks
nothing more than a small measure of liberty, of justice and of
love.
• The discontented, the criminal and the desperate will follow
you, but the people will stand apart. I would not follow you
myself; I would never resort to these extreme measures while I
could see some hope in man."
• “I do not mean to say that our liberty will be secured
at the swords point, for the sword plays but a little
part in modern affairs, but that we must secure it by
making ourselves worthy of it, by exalting the
intelligence and the dignity of the individuals, by loving
justice, right and greatness, even to the extent of dying
for them—and when a people reaches that height,
God will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered,
tyranny will crumble like a house of cards and liberty
will shine out like the first dawn.” (El Filibusterismo).
•
• Rizal advocated a non-violent revolution. He said
through Fr. Florentino in El Filibusterismo,

• “…the glory of saving a country cannot go to him who

has contributed to its ruin. You believed that what
crime and iniquity had stained and deformed, more
crime and iniquity could cleanse and redeem This was
error. Hate never produces anything but monsters,
crime, and criminals. Only love can work wonders, only
virtue can redeem.
• If our country is someday to be free, it will not be
through vice and crime, it will not be through the
corruption of its sons, some deceived, others bribed;
redemption presupposes virtue; virtue, sacrifice; and
sacrifice, love! You fomented social decay without
sowing an idea.

• From this fermentation of vices can spring only disgust

and if something is born from night to morning, it
would be at best a fungus, because spontaneously,
only fungus can be born of trash.”
• “… why give them freedom? With or
without Spain they would be the same,
and perhaps even worse! Why
independence if the slaves of today will be
the tyrants of tomorrow?”
• The idea of Change by force

• “ You are right Elias (in advocating revolution), but

men is a creature of circumstances! Then a month ago,
I was blind annoyed—what did I say? Now I see the
horrible cancer which feeds upon this society, which
clutches its flesh and which demands a violent
uprooting out.”
- Ibarra, Noli Me Tangere
Rizal’s letter to Blumentritt:

• “ A peaceful struggle will always be a dream, for Spain

will never learn the lessons of her South American
colonies.”
• Through Fr. Florentino, “The school of suffering
tempers, the arena of combat strengthen souls. I do
not mean to say that our freedom is conquered by the
sword’s point, the sword plays only a little part now in
modern destinies, but, yes, we have to conquer it by
being worthy of it, elevating reason and the dignity of
the individual, loving what is just, good, great, even
dying for it..”
•
The idea of using force but only as a last resort

• Rizal’s letter to Blumentritt (June 19,1881)

• “But if the government drives us to them, that is to

say, when no other hope remains to us but seek
destruction in war, when the Filipinos would prefer to
die rather than injure longer their misery, then I will
become a partisan of violence.” “I have lost my hope
in Spain”
• Rizal’s letter to Marcelo H. del Pilar

“ we shall resort to force only when we have exhausted

every other means, when they drive us to the war, to
fight or die, when God gives ever man the right to
defend himself as best as he can”.

Points to ponder:
• 1. Did Rizal advocate revolution as a means to changing
society?
• 2. In Rizal’s view, what is the state of things did
Filipinos need at that time? What could bring them
contentment?
Rizal’s Thoughts on Human Dignity

• God gave each one his own mind and his conscience so
that he can distinguish between right and wrong. All
are born without chains, free and no one can be
subject to the will of another. Why would you submit
to another your noble and free thought?
• God, fountain of wisdom, does not expect man,
created in his image, to allow himself to be fooled and
blinded… Men were not created by God to be
enslaved, neither were they endowed with intelligence
in order to be misled, nor adorned with reason to be
fooled by others. (Political and Historical Writings)
• In my opinion, self-esteem is the greatest good that
God has endowed man with for his perfection and
purity saving him from many unworthy and base acts
when he forgets the precepts he had learned or had
been inculcated in him.

• Precisely for me, self-esteem is dignity when it is not

passionate and it is moderated by judgment. It is like
the sap that impels the tree to turn upward in search
of the sun, the force that launches a steamship on its
course. (Miscellaneous Correspondence).
Points to ponder:

1. In Rizal’s view, how should one man act in relation

with his dealings with other men?

2. Can you see evidences of how men today fight for or

compromises his dignity?
Rizal’s Challenge to The Youth

• Through Fr. Florentino, ”..the just and the worthy have

to suffer so that their ideas will become known and
propagated! The vases have to be shaken or broken for
their perfume to spread, the stone has to be struck for
the light to spark! There is something providential in
the persecution of tyrants…”
• Through Elias, “I die without seeing the dawn brighten
over my native land. You who have it to see, welcome
it and forget not those who have fallen during the
night.”

• “Where are the youth who will dedicate their

innocence, their idealism, their enthusiasm to the good
of the country? Where are they who will give
generously of their blood to wash away so much
shame, crime and abomination?

• Pure and immaculate must the victim be for the

sacrifice to be acceptable."
Points to ponder:

1. What challenges does Rizal pose to the youth of

today?

2. How, did he suggest, could the youth be an answer to

the country’s problems?

3. What is your response to the challenge? What

personal commitments can you make?