CHAPTER 4
JOSE RIZAL'S FORMATIVE YEARS
An Ignatian Legacy
"The beliefs of my childhood have given way to the convictions of youth, which I hope in timewill take root
in me. Any essential belief that does not stand review and the test of time must pass on to the realm of
memory and leave the heart."1
Tragedies in Rizal's Young Life
It was with a sad heart that Francisco Rizal finally sent Jose off to a school inManila. The boy was
now eleven years of age. His brother Paciano was studying in the College of San Jose under its famous
teacher Fr. Jose Burgos, a noble and courageous Filipino priest. Here Jose Rizal came face to face with
another tragedy in his young life. He found Paciano distracted over the execution of the beloved Fr. Jose
Burgos, who was convicted of inciting mutiny, an insurrection or uprising against civil, legal, or political
authority.
The early education of Jose Rizal was an important aspect of his political thought. Like many
children of the well-to-do, he received his early education at home. He had private tutors, but it
quickly became obvious that he was advanced beyond his years. Although he attended school in
Calamba, young Jose primarily educated himself in the family library and through conversation with
family and friends. Finally it was decided that he would attend the prestigious Ateneo Municipal de
Manila in Intramuros, which means "within walls." The Rizal family now determined that Jose
should continue his education in Manila. He was making preparations to depart when an injustice
occurred and threw a shadow across his happy young life. His mother was thrown into prison,
accused of a crime of which she was so wholly incapable of doing that everybody knew it was a pure
fabrication. She was charged with conspiracy with her brother, Alberto Realonda, to kill his wife,
who had separated from him.
The Execution of Gomburza
On the night of January 20, 1872, some 200 Filipino and Spanish mestizo workersand soldiers
rose in mutiny in Cavite because of the abolition of their usual privileges including exemption from
tribute and polo y servicio (forced labor) by the Governor General Rafael de Izquierdo. Three priests
were implicated in the mutiny, tried and sentenced to die on February 17, 1872. They were Fr.
Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, and Fr. Jacinto Zamora. They were known as Gomburza.
Fr. Gomez was a native of Cavite, a parish priest of Bacoor, and more than 70 years old at the
time of execution. Fr. Burgos was described by the Spanish newspaper La Nacion as a "Spaniard
born in the Philippines and a parish priest of the Manila Cathedral." Fr. Zamora was also a Spaniard
born in the Philippines and a parish priest of Marikina. He had given serious offense to the Spanish
authorities, specifically Brigadier Oran, the governor of Manila in 1867. Fr. Zamora denied him the
honors due to' provincial governor when he made a trip to Marikina.
The Imprisonment and Release of Dona Teodora
During Jose's two-year stay in Ateneo, his mother was imprisoned in Santa Cruz. Dona
Teodora allegedly conspired with her brother Jose Alberto to poison his wife. Then she was released
for a reason that revealed more plainly than ever how little justice existed during that period. The
Governor General, Rafael Izquierdo,2 happened be visiting Calamba. Some little girls danced for his
entertainment. One of them was so pretty and did her steps so charmingly that the Governor
General called her to his side and said:
“What present can I give you, charming little dancer?”
“Oh, please, Governor,” she answered, “release my mother from prison.” “Who is this
little girl's mother? Set her free!”3 cried the Governor General.
The pretty girl was Jose's sister, Soledad. Her mother was at once released andthe case
dismissed without a trial.
The execution of Gomburza and the imprisonment of Doña Teodora were fearful shocks for
an idealistic young scholar to endure at one time, and they burned ineradicably into his soul. "Under
the sense of an intolerable wrong, all the rest of his life, he seemed a lonely and rather melancholy
figure. A feeling grew upon him that themisfortunes of his people were to be the business of his
life."4
Rizal's Formative Years In Ateneo
Prior to Ateneo, Rizal took and passed the entrance exam at Colegio de San Juan de Letran,
but his father Francisco opted for Ateneo. On June 10, 1872, Paciano accompanied Jose to
matriculate at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. Fr. Magin Ferrando, the registrar of Ateneo at first
refused to admit Jose for two reasons: (1) he was late for registration and (2) he appeared sickly
and undersized for his age. Upon the intercession of Manuel Xerez-Burgos, nephew of Fr. Burgos,
Rizal was reluctantly admitted to Ateneo.
The role of the Jesuits in Philippine education is very important. After they were expelled from
the Philippine archipelago in 1768, (In 1768, the Jesuits were banished from the Philippines. On February
27, 1767, King Charles III of Spain had issued a decree banishing the Society of Jesus from Spain and the
Spanish dominions. This decree reached Manila on May 17, 1768.) the order remained dormant until its
members returned in 1859. When the Jesuits re-emerged to convert the Mindanao population, they were
also asked to take charge of Ateneo. By 1865 Ateneo was a secondary school that offered rigorous
courses almost equivalent to college academics. Ateneo was considered the finest school in the
Philippines because of the rigorous intellectual standards of the Jesuits.
Following the rigid methodical habits which he had learned from his father and his Jesuit
teachers, Jose prepared a schedule so that he would not lose an hour: study and reading until four
pm, exercise from four to five pm, and social and miscellaneous obligations from five to six pm. This
careful management of his time yielded results almost at once.
He began at the bottom of the school, but within a month he became "Emperor of
Carthaginian." Ateneo had divided the students into two "empires," Roman and Carthaginian, to
fight for academic supremacy. It was this war that soon brought young Rizal triumph and prizes. At
the end of the first quarter, he received the grade "excellent."
The schedule he followed gave him extra time for reading. The first foreign book he read,5 The
Count of Monte Crtsto by Alexander Dumas reminded him of the sufferings of his mother in prison
and of his motherland. Conditions worse than those which
Dumas had described in his book were present all over the Philippines during thattime.
But the book which intrigued him was Dr. Feodor Jagor’s Travels in the Philippines. Jagor was
a German naturalist had visited the Philippines fifteen years before and had made very wise and
even prophetic comments. His book severely criticized the Spanish regime: "Government
monopolies, insolent disregard, and neglect were the chief reasons for the downfall of Spain’s
possessions. The same causes threatenruin to the Philippines…”
It was in this environment that Jose Rizal began the education that would solidify his political
thoughts.
Rizal's Early Writings on Education
While at Ateneo, Rizal won a special prize in poetry for "A La Juventud Filipina" ("To the
Philippine Youth") and he cultivated the intellectual direction which led to his nationalistic
writings.6
TO THE PHILIPPINE YOUTH
(A Translation from the Spanish by Nick Joaquin)
Hold high the brow 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,
Swifter than the wind's violation, Raise the eager
mind to higher station.
Comedown with pleasing lightOf art and
science to the fight,
O youth, and there untie The chains
that heavy tie,Your spirit free to blight.
See how in flaming zone Amid the
shadows thrown, The Spaniard'a holy
hand A crown's resplendent band
Proffers to this Indian land.
Thou, who now wouldst rise On wings of
rich emprise, Seeking from Olympian
skiesSongs of sweetest strain, Softer than
ambrosial rain;
Thou, whose voice divine Rivals
Philomel's refrain And with varied line
Through the night benignFrees mortality
from pain;
Thou, who by sharp strifeWakest 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 Apelles dear;Or by the brush's magic
art
Takest from nature's store a part, To fig 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 to-dayThat places in
thy way
This favor and this fortune grand!
While attending Ateneo, Rizal developed into a first-rate student. He was remembered as an
original thinker, a creative scholar, and a natural leader. The Ateneoyears were a coming-out period
for Rizal. He not only became the leader of his fellow students, he also took up fencing and
gymnastics,7 The most noticeable change inRizal’s education was his mastery of Spanish.
When Rizal began schools, he was only moderately successful in speaking and writing
Spanish. But Rizal work hard and read constantly until finally Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez
remarked that he was becoming proficient in the language. At this point Rizal began writing in
Spanish. Most of his famous works were written in that language. 8
It was Fr. Sanchez who recognized Rizal’s talent as a poet and encouraged him to practice
this craft. Rizal’s student poems were impressionistic and amateurish, but they contained the seeds of
his future nationalism. As a member of the Society of Muses, Rizal enjoyed himself but increasingly
found his poems expressing a national theme. He could see a sense of Philippine nationalism in writing
about flowers; even his early poems suggested a critical voice that castigated the Spanish for their foibles
and follies.
Fr. Jose Villaclara, who instructed Rizal in the sciences and philosophy, playedan equally
important role in Rizal’s writing. He was a young man who believed that Rizal was wasting his time
with poetry. He developed a scientific curiosity in young Rizal that lasted until his death. It was Fr.
Villaclara who convinced Rizal to take a "scientific attitude" about life. His classes encouraged Rizal
to express his earliestnational ideas. He was determined to serve his people. That service would
define the key elements of Philippine nationalism.
A poem that Rizal wrote during his Ateneo years "Por Is Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria"
("Through Education Ours Motherland Receives Light"), suggested that education is an integral art
of the national character.
THROUGH EDUCATION OUR MOTHERLAND RECEIVES LIGHT
The vital breath of prudent EducationInstills 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 heartThe 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 bestowOn 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 whop rudent Education doth procureThe
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 endureBut 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 cloth 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 towerAbove the
center of the stormy deep
In scorn of storm, or fierce Sou'wester's powerOr 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 savedLuxuriant 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, faithenrapture 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 door
motherland the light That leads as to immortal
glory's height.
Again, while in Ateneo, in 1876 composed a poem entitled “Alianza intima la religion y la
educacion” (“The Intimate Alliance between Religion and Education”) in which Rizal expressed
importance of religion in education and to him; education without God is not true education.
THE INTIMATE ALLIANCE BETWEEN RELIGION AND EDUCATION
As the climbing ivy over lofty elm Creeps
tortuously, together the, adornment
Of the verdant plain, embellishingEach other
and together growing,
But should the kindly elm refuse its aid The ivy would
impotent and friendless wither;
So is Education to ReligionBy spiritual
alliance bound.
Through Religion, Education gains renown, andWoe to the
impious mind that blindly spurning The sapient teachings of
Religion, this Unpolluted fountainhead forsakes.
As the sprout, growing from the pompous vine,Proudly
offers us its honeyed clusters
While the generous and fresh’ning watersOf celestial
virtue give new life
To Education true, shedding
On it warmth and light; because of them The vine
smells sweet and gives delicious fruit.
Without Religion, Human EducationIs like unto
a vessel struck by winds
Which, sore beset, is of its helm deprived By the
roaring blows and buffets of the dread
Tempestuous Boreas, who fiercely wields His power
until he proudly sends her downInto the deep abysses of
the angered sea.
As heaven's dew the meadow feeds and strengthensSo that
blooming flowers all the earth Embroider in the days of
spring; so also
If Religion holy nourishes
Education with its doctrines, sheShall walk in
joy and generosity
Toward the Good, and everywhere bestrew,The fragrant
and luxuriant fruits of Virtue.
The Jesuits did not envision Rizal as an intellectual radical. With his good manners,
understated way of speaking and writing, and his well-dressed, often deferential character, he
appeared like most other students. In fact, when Fr. Sanchez read his poems, he failed to see the
beginnings of an enthusiastic leader. An examination of Rizal's student memoirs, as well as his
diaries, suggested that his Ateneoyears were formative ones. He not only developed scientific skills
but a critical sense of writing in the Spanish language as well. Eventually Rizal would excel as a
scientist, a fiction writer, a nationalist, and a medical doctor. All these would have been impossible
without his early education.
Rizal's Early Religious Writings
Rizal's devotion to the Mother and Son was further manifested when he wrote during his
Ateneo days two separate religious poem One was titled "A la Virgen Maria" ("To the Virgin Mary"),
and other was "Al Nilio Jesus" ("To the Child Jesus") . One night as Rizal was visiting his parents in
Calamba, he stepped out into the dark street as a man was passing. He failed to see that the passerby
was one of the civil guards, and so he did not salute. Suddenly a sword struck him across the back.
When he recovered from the sword wound, which fortunately was not serious, he complained to
the authorities. He was informed that the civil guard had done his duty and that, instead of
complaining, the victim ought to be thankful that he was alive. It could have been while he was
convalescing that he wrote his lonely sonnet to the Virgin Mary, the first sad poem he had written.
TO THE VIRGIN MARY
Dear Mary, giving comfort and sweet peaceTo all
afflicted mortals; thou the spring Whence flows a
current of relief, to bring Our soil fertility that does not
cease;
Upon thy throne, where thou dost reign on high,Oh, list
with pity as I woeful grieve
And spread thy radiant mantle to receiveMy voice
which rises swiftly to the sky. Placid Mary, thou my
mother clear,
My sustenance, my fortitude must be, And in this
fearsome sea my way must steer.
If deprivation comes to buffet me, And if grim
death in agony draws near, Oh, succor me. from
anguish set me free.
This poem addressed to the Virgin Mary appears to be a sonnet. Its last three lines remind one
of the hymn "Mother of Christ" in the Baclaran church novena.9
The other poem, an ode to Jesus which was written in 1875, was short and consisted of eight
verses only. Based on Spanish poetry standard, which must have influenced Rizal, it could be
classified as octava real.
TO THE CHILD JESUS
How, God-child, hast Thou comeTo earth in
cave forlorn?
Does fortune now deride Thee When Thou
art scarcely born?
Ah, woe! Celestial king Who mortal
form dost keep
Woulds't rather than be SovereignBe shepherd
of Thy Sheep?
Rizal’s Other Early writings
Rizal wrote the poem "In Memory of My Village" as he recalled the joyous days of his
childhood in Calamba.
IN MEMORY OF MY VILLAGE
When early childhood’s happy days
In memory I see once more
Along the lovely verdant shore
That meets a gently murmuring sea;
When I recall the whisper br soft
Of zephyrs dancing on my brow
With cooling sweetness, even now
New luscious life is born in me.
When I behold the lily white
That sways to do the wind's command
While gently sleeping on the sand
The stormy water rests awhile;
When from the flowers there softly breathes
A bouquet ravishingly sweet,
Outpoured the newborn dawn to meet,
As on us she begins to smile.
With sadness I recall........recall
Thy face, in precious infancy,
Oh mother, friend most dear to me,
Who gave to life a wondrous charm.
I yet recall a village plain, My joy, my
family, my boon, Beside the freshly cool
lagoon, -The spot for which my heart beats warm.
Ah, yes! My footsteps insecure
In your dark forests deeply sank;And there
by every river's bank I found refreshment
and delight;
Within that rustic temple prayed
With childhood's simple faith unfeigned
While cooling breezes, pure unstained,
Would send my heart on rapturous flight.
I saw the Maker in the grandeur
Of your ancient hoary wood,
Ah, never in your refuge could
A mortal by regret be smitten;
And while upon your sky of blueI gazed, no
love nor tenderness
Could fail, for here on nature's dress
My happiness itself was written.
Ah, tender childhood, lovely town,
Rich fount of my felicities,
Of those harmonious melodies
Which put to flight all dismal hours,
Come back to my heart once more
Come hack gentle hours,
I yearn!Come back as the birds return,
At the budding of the flowers!
Alas, farewell! Eternal vigil I keep
For Thy peace, Thy bliss, and tranquility,
O Genius of good, so kind!
Give me these gifts, with charity.
To Thee are my fervent vows,
To Thee I cease not to sigh
These to learn, and I call to the sky
To have thy sincerity.
Rizal also wrote "A Farewell Dialogue of the Students" just before he graduated from Ateneo.
On March 23, 1877, not yet sixteen years old, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts with highest
honors. Five years later he composed a tribute for the very reverend Fr. Pablo Ramon, rector of
Ateneo, on the occasion of his birthday.
Rizal’s Scholastic Records
Jose Rizal's four years in Ateneo were a continuous pageant of brilliant scholastictriumphs,
which made him the pride of the Jesuits. According to historian Gregorio Zaide, Rizal obtained the
following scholastic ratings:
SUBJECTS
Arithmetic
Latin 1
Spanish
Greek
Latin 2
Spanish
Latin 3
Geography
Spanish
Greek
General History
History of Spain and
the Philippines
Arithmetic and
Algebra
Rhetoric and Poetry
French
Geometry and Trignometry
Philosophy 1
Mineralogy & Chemistry
Philosophy 2
Physics
Botany and Zoology
1872
RATINGS
Excellent
1872-73
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
1873-74
Excellent
Excellent
1874-75
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
1875-76
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
1876-77
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Nonetheless Ambeth Ocampo, Filipino revisionist historian, suggests: “WE must never assume that
Rizal graduated valedictorian or at the top of his class.” 10 Rizal stood out as a student leader and a
national spokesperson, because he had the ability to talk tothe average Filipino.