Chapter 5

2. Mother’s Opposition to Higher
Education
 Doña Teodora 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.”

3. Mother’s Opposition to Higher
Education
 Years later, Rizal wrote in his journal:
“Did my mother perhaps have a foreboding
of what would happen to me? Does a
mother’s heart really have a second sight?”

4. University of Santo Tomas
After graduating with the highest honors from the Ateneo,
Rizal had to go to University of Santo Tomas for higher
studies.

5. Rizal’s Marker in
UST
Jose Rizal
(1879)

6. Rizal Enters the University
 In April 1877, Rizal who was then nearly 16 years
old, matriculated in the University of Santo Tomas,
taking the course on Philosophy and Letters.
 Rizal enrolled for two reasons: (1) his father
liked it (2) he was “still uncertain as to what
career to pursue”.

7.  He had written to Father Pablo Ramon, Rector of
the Ateneo, who had been good to him during his
student days in that college, asking for advice on
the choice of a career but he was unable to
advise Rizal.
 During his first-year term (1877-1878), Rizal
studied Cosmology, Metaphysics, Theodicy,
and History of Philosophy.

8.  It was during the following term (1878-1879) that
Rizal, received the Ateneo Rector’s advice to
study medicine, took up the medical course,
enrolling simultaneously in the preparatory
medical course, and the first year medical
course.

9. Finishing Surveying Course in Ateneo
(1878)
 Rizal took the vocational course leading to the
title of perito agrimensor (expert surveyor).
 He excelled in all subjects in the surveying
course, obtaining gold medals in agriculture and
topography.

10.  Rizal is loyal to Ateneo. He continued to
participate actively in the school’s extra-
curricular activities:
◦ President of the Academy of Spanish
Literature
◦ Secretary of the Academy of Natural Sciences
◦ Member of Marian Congregation

11. Romances with Other Girls
Segunda Katigbak
Rizal’s first love
Shortly after losing Segunda
Katigbak, Rizal paid court to a
young woman in Calamba. He
called her “Miss L”. He
described her as “fair with
seductive and attractive eyes”.

12. During his sophomore year, when
Rizal boarded in the house of
Concha Leyva in Intramuros, he
met Leonor Valenzuela. He
described her as tall girl with a
regal bearing. He sent her love
notes written in invisible ink which
consists of salt and water.Leonor “Orang”
Valenzuela

13. At the start of his junior year, he lived in “Casa
Tomasina” at No.6 Calle Santo Tomas, Intramuros.

14.  His landlord-uncle, Antonio
Rivera had a pretty daughter,
Leonor Rivera, a student at
La Concordia College .
Leonor was born in Camiling,
Tarlac on April 11, 1867.
Leonor Rivera

15.  Rizal described her as a frail,
pretty girl “tender as a budding
flower with kindly, wistful eyes.”
 In her letters Rizal, Leonor
signed her name as “Taimis” to
camouflage their intimate
relationship from their parents
ands friends.Rizal’s sketch of
Leonor Rivera

16. Victim of Spanish Officer’s Brutality
 One dark night in Calamba, during summer
vacation in 1878, he was walking in the street. He
vaguely perceived the lieutenant of the Guardia
Civil. Not knowing who the person was, he did
not salute or greet the officer. With a snarl, he
brutally slashed Rizal at the back with a sword.

17.  Rizal reported the incident to General Primo de
Rivera, the Spanish governor general of the
Philippines at that time.
 In a letter addressed to Blumentritt, dated March
21, 1887, he related:
“I went to the Captain-General but I could not
obtain justice; my wound lasted two weeks.”

18. “To The Filipino Youth” (1879)
 In 1879, Liceo Artistico-Literario (Artistic-Literary
Lyceum) of Manila, a society of literary men and
artists, held a literary contest
 The 18 year old Rizal submitted his poem entitled
A La Juventud Filipina (To The Filipino Youth).

19.  The Board of Judges, composed of Spaniards,
was impressed by Rizal’s poem and gave it the
first prize which consisted of a silver pen, feather-
shaped and decorated with gold ribbon.
 He was sincerely congratulated by the Jesuits,
especially his former professors at the Ateneo,
and by his friends and relatives.

20.  In exquisite verses, Rizal beseeched the youth
to rise from lethargy, to let their genius fly swifter
than the wind and descend with art and science
to break the chains that have long bound the
spirit of the people.

21. To The Filipino Youth
Theme: “Grow, O Timid Flower”
(Excerpt)
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 winds violation,
Raise the eager mind to higher station.

22.  The winning poem of Rizal is a classic in
Philippine literature for two reasons:
1. It is the first great poem in Spanish written by a
Filipino, whose merit was recognized by Spanish
authorities
2. It expressed for the first time the nationalistic
concept of Filipinos, and not the foreigners, were
the “fair hope of the Fatherland”.

23. “The Council of the Gods” (1880)
 Rizal participated in another contest organized by
the Artistic-Literary Lyceum to commemorate the
fourth centennial of the death of Cervantes,
Spain’s glorified man-of-letters and famous author
of Don Quixote.
 He submitted an allegorical drama entitled El
Consejo de los Dioses (The Council of Gods)

24.  The Spaniard judges awarded the first prize to
Rizal’s work because of its literary superiority over
the others.
 The winning allegory of Rizal was a literary
masterpiece based on the Greek classics.

25.  The gods discuss the comparative merits of the
great writers Homer, Virgil and Cervantes and
finally decide to give the trumpet to Homer, the lyre
to Virgil, and the laurel to Cervantes. The allegory
closes gloriously closes with the naiads, nymphs,
satyrs and other mythological characters dancing
and gathering laurels for Cervantes.

26. Other Literary Works
 Rizal produced other poems and a zarzuela
entitled Junto al Pasig (Beside the Pasig) which
was staged by Ateneans on December 8,1880, on
the occasion of the annual celebration of the Feast
Day of Immaculate Conception, Patroness of
Ateneo. He expressed his nationalist ideas in this
piece.

27.  In the same year (1880), he wrote a sonnet
entitled A Filipinas for the album of the
Society of Sculptors. In this sonnet, he
urged all Filipino artists to glorify the
Philippines.

28.  In 1879, he composed a poem entitled Abd-
el-Azis y Mahoma, which was declaimed
by an Atenean Manuel Fernandez on
December 8, 1879 in honor of Ateneo’s
Patroness.

29.  Later, in 1881, he composed a poem
entitled Al M.R.P. Pablo Ramon. He wrote
this poem as an expression of affection to
Father Pablo Ramon, the Ateneo Rector,
who had been so kind and helpful to him.

30. Rizal’s Visit to Pakil and Pagsanjan
 In the summer month of May 1881, Rizal
went on a pilgrimage to the town of Pakil,
famous shrine of the Birhen Maria de los
Dolores. Hew was accompanied by his
sisters – Saturnina, Maria and Trinidad and
their female friends.

31.  Rizal and his companions were fascinated by the
famous turumba, the people dancing in the streets
during the procession in honor of the miraculous
Birhen Maria de los Dolores. As they danced, the
dancers sang:
Turumba, Turumba, Mariangga
Matuwa tayo’t masaya
Sumayaw ng turumba
Puri sa Birhen Maria

32.  In Pakil, Rizal was infatuated by a pretty girl
colegiala named Vicenta Ybardolaza, who skill
played the harp at the Regalado home.
 From Pakil, Rizal and his party made a side trip to
Pagsanjan for two reasons- it was the native
town of Leonor Valenzuela and to see the
world famed Pagsanjan Falls.

33.  Years later Rizal mentioned the Turumba in
Chapter VI Of Noli Me Tangere and Pagsanjan
Falls in his travel diary (United States – Saturday,
May 12, 1888), where he said that Niagara Falls
was the “greatest cascades I ever saw” but “not
so beautiful nor fine as the falls at Los Baños,
(sic) Pagsanjan”.

34. Champion of Filipino Students
 Rizal was the champion of the Filipino students in
their frequent fights. Arrogant Spanish students
who were often surpassed by Filipinos in their
class work insultingly called their brown
classmates “Indio, chongo!”. In retaliation, the
Filipino students called them “Kastila, bangus!”.

35.  Rizal participated in these student brawls.
Owing to his skill in fencing, his prowess in
wrestling, and his indomitable courage, he
distinguished himself in these student
skirmishes.

36. Companions of
Jehu
In 1880, he founded a secret society
of Filipino students in the University
of Santo Tomas called
“Compañerismo” (Comradeship),
whose members were called
“Companions of Jehu”, after the
Hebrew general who fought the
Armaeans and ruled the Kingdom of
Israel for 28 years.

37.  Rizal was the chief of this
secret student society , with his
cousin from Batangas,
Galicano Apacible, as
secretary. As chief, he led the
students into combat against
Spanish students in various
street fights.

38. 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.

39.  Because of the unfriendly attitude of his
professors, the most brilliant student of Ateneo,
failed to win high 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.

40. Rizal’s scholastic
record
His scholastic records
in the University of
Santo Tomas (1879-82)
were as follows:

41. 1878-1879 (Philosophy & Letters)
Cosmology & Metaphysics . . . . . . Excellent
Theodicy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excellent
History of Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . Excellent
1878-1879 (Medicine) - 1st Year
Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fair
Chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excellent
Natural History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Good
Anatomy I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Good
Dissection I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good

42. 1879-1880 (Medicine) - 2nd Year
Anatomy 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good
Dissection 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good
Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Good
Private Hygiene .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Good
Public Hygiene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good
1880-1881 (Medicine) – 3rd Year
General Pathology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fair
Therapeutics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excellent
Surgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good

43. 1881-1882 (Medicine) – 4th Year
Medical Pathology . . . . . . . . . . . . .Very Good
Surgical Pathology. . . . . . . . . . . . . Very Good
Obstetrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Very Good

44. Decision to Study Abroad
 After finishing the fourth year of his medical course,
Rizal decided to study in Spain. He could no longer
endure the rampant bigotry, discrimination and hostility
in the University of Santo Tomas. His older brother
readily approved his going to Spain and so did his two
sisters Saturnina (Neneng) and Lucia, Uncle Antonio
Rivera, the Valenzuela family, and some friends.