José Rizal
Philippine Patriot

Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Morir Page i

In the Philippine Islands the American Government has tried, and is trying, to carry out exactly what the greatest genius and most revered patriot ever known in the Philippines, José Rizal, steadfastly advocated,

—Theodore Roosevelt, then President of the United States, in a public address at Fargo, N. D., April 7, 1903.

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Lineage Life and Labors

of

José Rizal

Philippine Patriot

A Study of the Growth of Free Ideas in the Trans-Pacific American Territory

By
Austin Craig
Assistant Professor Oriental History
University of the Philippines
Author of “The Study of José Rizal,” “El Lineaje del Doctor Rizal,” Etc.
Introduction by
James Alexander Robertson, L.H.D.

Manila
Philippine Education Company
1913

Dedication

To the Philippine Youth

The subject of Doctor Rizal’s first prize-winning poem was The Philippine Youth, and its theme was “Growth.” The study of the growth of free ideas, as illustrated in this book of his lineage, life and labors, may therefore fittingly be dedicated to the “fair hope of the fatherland.”

Except in the case of some few men of great genius, those who are accustomed to absolutism cannot comprehend democracy. Therefore our nation is relying on its young men and young women; on the rising, instructed generation, for the secure establishment of popular self-government in the Philippines. This was Rizal’s own idea, for he said, through the old philosopher in “Noli me Tangere,” that he was not writing for his own generation but for a coming, instructed generation that would understand his hidden meaning.

Your public school education gives you the democratic view-point, which the genius of Rizal gave him; in the fifty-five volumes of the Blair-Robertson translation of Philippine historical material there is available today more about your country’s past than the entire contents of the British Museum afforded him; and you have the guidance in the new paths that Rizal struck out, of the life of a hero who, farsightedly or providentially, as you may later decide, was the forerunner of the present régime.

But you will do as he would have done, neither accept anything because it is written, nor reject it because it does not fall in with your prejudices—study out the truth for yourselves. Page vi

Introduction

In writing a biography, the author, if he be discriminating, selects, with great care, the salient features of the life story of the one whom he deems worthy of being portrayed as a person possessed of preëminent qualities that make for a character and greatness. Indeed to write biography at all, one should have that nice sense of proportion that makes him instinctively seize upon only those points that do advance his theme. Boswell has given the world an example of biography that is often wearisome in the extreme, although he wrote about a man who occupied in his time a commanding position. Because Johnson was Johnson the world accepts Boswell, and loves to talk of the minuteness of Boswell’s portrayal, yet how many read him, or if they do read him, have the patience to read him to the end?

In writing the life of the greatest of the Filipinos, Mr. Craig has displayed judgment. Saturated as he is with endless details of Rizal’s life, he has had the good taste to select those incidents or those phases of Rizal’s life that exhibit his greatness of soul and that show the factors that were the most potent in shaping his character and in controlling his purposes and actions.

A biography written with this chastening of wealth cannot fail to be instructive and worthy of study. If one were to point out but a single benefit that can accrue from a study of biography written as Mr. Craig has done that of Rizal, he would mention, I believe, that to the character of the student, for one cannot study seriously about men of character without being affected by that study. As leading to an understanding of the character of Rizal, Mr. Craig has described his ancestry with considerable fulness and has shown how the selective Page viiprinciple has worked through successive generations. But he has also realized the value of the outside influences and shows how the accidents of birth and nation affected by environment plus mental vigor and will produced José Rizal. With a strikingly meager setting of detail, Rizal has been portrayed from every side and the reader must leave the biography with a knowledge of the elements that entered into and made his life. As a study for the youth of the Philippines, I believe this life of Rizal will be productive of good results. Stimulation and purpose are presented (yet not didactically) throughout its pages. One object of the author, I should say, has been to show how both Philippine history and world history helped shape Rizal’s character. Accordingly, he has mentioned many historical matters both of Philippine and world-wide interest. One cannot read the book without a desire to know more of these matters. Thus the book is not only a biography, it is a history as well. It must give a larger outlook to the youth of the Philippines. The only drawback that one might find in it, and it seems paradoxical to say it, is the lack of more detail, for one leaves it wishing that he knew more of the actual intimate happenings, and this, I take it, is the best effect a biography can have on the reader outside of the instructive and moral value of the biography.

James A. Robertson.

Manila, P. I. Page viii

Contents

• Dedication. To the Philippine Youth
• Introduction
• I. America’s Forerunner
• II. Rizal’s Chinese Ancestry
• III. Liberalizing Hereditary Influences
• IV. Rizal’s Early Childhood
• V. Jagor’s Prophecy
• VI. The Period of Preparation
• VII. The Period of Propaganda
• VIII. Despujol’s Duplicity
• IX. The Deportation to Dapitan
• X. Consummatum Est
• XI. The After Life In Memory
• Appendix. The Monkey and the Tortoise

Page ix

List of Illustrations

Portrait of Rizal Frontispiece Painted in oils by Felix Resurrection Hidalgo (in color).

Philippine Money and Postage Stamps

Portrait of Rizal Painted in oils by Juan Luna in Paris. Facsimile (in color).

Columbus at Barcelona From a print in Rizal’s scrapbook.

Portrait Group Rizal at thirteen. Rizal at eighteen. Rizal in London. The portrait on the postage stamp.

The Baptismal Record of Domingo Lam-co Facsimile.

Portrait Group 1. In Luna’s home. 2. In 1890. 3. The portrait on the paper money. 4. In 1891. 5. In 1892.

Pacific Ocean Spheres of Influence Made by Rizal during President Harrison’s administration.

Father of Rizal Portrait.

Mother of Rizal Portrait.

Rizal’s Family-Tree Made by Rizal when in Dapitan.

Birthplace of José Rizal From a photograph.

Sketches by Rizal A group made during his travels.

Bust of Rizal’s Father Carved in wood by Rizal.

The Church and Convento at Kalamba From a photograph.

Father Leoncio Lopez From a photograph.

The Lake District of Central Luzon Sketch made by Rizal. Page x

Rizal’s Uncle, José Alberto From a photograph.

Sir John Bowring, K.C.B. From an old print.

José Del Pan of Manila From a photograph.

Governor De La Torre From an old print.

Archbishop Martinez From an old print.

The Very Rev. James Burgos, D.D. From a photograph.

Gen. F. T. Ward From a photograph.

Monument to the “Ever-Victorious” Army, Shanghai From a photograph.

Mrs. Rizal and Her Two Daughters From a photograph.

Bilibid Prison From an old print.

Model of a Head of a Dapitan Girl From a photograph.

Memorial to José Alberto in the Church at Biñan From a photograph.

Books from Rizal’s Library From a photograph.

Rizal’s Carving of the Sacred Heart From a photograph.

Bust of Father Guerrico, S. J. From a photograph.

Two Views of a Composite Statuette by Rizal From photographs.

Model in Clay of a Dapitan Woman From a photograph.

Sketch of Himself in the Training Class Photograph from the original.

Oil Painting of Rizal’s Sister, Saturnina Photograph from the painting. Page xi

Rizal’s Parting View of Manila Pencil sketch by himself.

Sketches: 1. Singapore Lighthouse. 2. Along the Suez Canal. 3. Castle of St. Elmo From Rizal’s sketch book.

Studies of Passengers on the French Mail Steamer From Rizal’s sketch book.

Aden, May 28, 1882 From Rizal’s sketch book.

Don Pablo Ortigas y Reyes From a photograph.

First Lines of a Poem by Rizal to Miss Reyes Facsimile.

Rizal in Juan Luna’s Studio in Paris From a photograph.

The Ruined Castle at Heidelberg From a photograph.

Dr. Rudolf Virchow From a photograph.

The House where Rizal Completed “Noli Me Tangere” From a photograph.

Manuscript of “Noli Me Tangere” Facsimile.

Portrait of Dr. F. Blumentritt Pencil sketch by Rizal.

The Victory of Death over Life and of Science over Death Statuettes by Rizal from photographs.

José T. De Andrade, Rizal’s Bodyguard From an old print.

José Maria Basa of Hongkong From a photograph.

Imitations of Japanese Art From Rizal’s sketch book.

Dr. Antonio Maria Regidor From a photograph.

A “Wheel of Fortune” Answer Book Facsimile. Page xii

Dr. Reinhold Rost From a photograph.

A Page from Andersen’s Fairy Tales Translated by Rizal Facsimile.

Dedication of Rizal’s Translation of Andersen’s Fairy Tales Facsimile.

A Trilingual Letter by Rizal Facsimile.

Morga’s History in the British Museum From a photograph of the original.

Application, Recommendation and Admission to the British Museum From photographs of the originals.

“La Solidaridad” From photograph of the original.

Staff of “La Solidaridad” From a photograph.

Rizal Fencing with Luna in Paris From a photograph.

General Weyler Known as “Butcher” Weyler From a photograph.

Rizal’s Parents during the Land Troubles From photographs.

The Writ of Eviction against Rizal’s Father Facsimile of the original.

Room in which “El Filibusterismo” was Begun Pencil sketch by Rizal.

First Page of the Manuscript of “El Filibusterismo” Facsimile from the original.

Cover of the Manuscript of “El Filibusterismo” Facsimile of the original.

Rizal’s Professional Card when in Hongkong Facsimile of the original.

Statuette Modeled by Rizal From a photograph.

Don Eulogio Despujol From an old print.

Proposed Settlement in Borneo Facsimile of original sketch. Page xiii

Rizal’s Passport or “Safe Conduct” Photograph of the original.

Part of Despujol’s Private Inquiry Facsimile of the original.

Case Secretly Filed against Rizal Facsimile of the original.

Luis De La Torre, Secretary to Despujol From an old print.

Regulations of La Liga Filipina Facsimile in Rizal’s handwriting.

The Calle Ilaya Monument to Rizal and La Liga Filipina From a photograph.

Three New Species Discovered by Rizal and Named After Him From an engraving.

Specimens Collected by Rizal and Father Sanchez From photographs.

Statuette by Rizal, The Mother’s Revenge From a photograph.

Father Sanchez, S. J. From a photograph.

Drawings of Fishes Caught at Dapitan Twelve facsimiles of Rizal’s originals.

Plan of the Water Works for Dapitan Facsimile of Rizal’s sketch.

Jewelry of Earliest Moro Converts From a photograph.

Hill and Excavations where the Jewelry was Found Facsimile of a sketch by Rizal.

List of Ethnographical Material Facsimile.

The Blind Mr. Taufer From a photograph.

Rizal’s Father-in-Law From a photograph.

Carved Portrait of Josefina Bracken From a photograph.

Josefina Bracken’s Baptismal Certificate Facsimile of the original. Page xiv

Josefina Bracken, Afterwards Mrs. José Rizal From a photograph.

Leonora Rivera Pencil sketch by Rizal.

Leonora Rivera at the Age of Fifteen From a photograph.

Letter to His Nephew by Rizal Facsimile.

Ethnographical Material Collected by Rizal From a print.

Cell in which Rizal was Imprisoned From a photograph.

Cuartel De España From a photograph.

Luis T. De Andrade From an old print.

Interior of Cell From a photograph.

Rizal’s Wedding Gift to His Wife Facsimile of original.

Rizal’s Symbolic Name in Masonry Facsimile of original.

The Wife of José Rizal From a photograph.

Execution of Rizal From a photograph.

Burial Record of Rizal Facsimile from the Paco register.

Grave of Rizal in Paco Cemetery, Manila From a photograph.

The Alcohol Lamp in which the “Farewell” Poem was Hidden From a photograph.

The Opening Lines of Rizal’s Last Verses Facsimile of original.

Rizal’s Farewell to His Mother Facsimile.

Monument at the Corner of Rizal Avenue From a photograph. Page xv

Float in a Rizal Day Parade From a photograph.

W. J. Bryan as a Rizal Day Orator From a photograph.

Governor-General Forbes and Delegate Mariano Ponce From a photograph.

The Last Portrait of José Rizal’s Mother From a photograph.

Accepted Model for the Rizal Monument From a photograph.

The Rizal Monument in Front of the New Capital From a sketch.

The Story of the Monkey and the Tortoise Six facsimiles from Rizal’s originals.

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Chapter I

America’s Forerunner

The lineage of a hero who made the history of his country during its most critical period, and whose labors constitute its hope for the future, must be more than a simple list of an ascending line. The blood which flowed in his veins must be traced generation by generation, the better to understand the man, but at the same time the causes leading to the conditions of his times must be noted, step by step, in order to give a better understanding of the environment in which he lived and labored.

The study of the growth of free ideas is now in the days of our democracy the most important feature of Philippine history; hitherto this history has consisted of little more than lists of governors, their term of office, and of the recital of such incidents as were considered to redound to the glory of Spain, or could be so twisted and misrepresented as to make them appear to do so. It rarely occurred to former historians that the lamp of experience might prove a light for the feet of future generations, and the mistakes of the past were usually ignored or passed over, thus leaving the way open for repeating the old errors. But profit, not pride, should be the object of the study of the past, and our historians of today very largely concern themselves with mistakes in policy and defects of system; fortunately for them such critical investigation under our changed conditions does not involve the discomfort and danger that attended it in the days of Doctor Rizal.

Page 2In the opinion of the martyred Doctor, criticism of the right sort—even the very best things may be abused till they become intolerable evils—serves much the same useful warning purpose for governments that the symptoms of sickness do for persons. Thus government and individual alike, when advised in time of something wrong with the system, can seek out and correct the cause before serious consequences ensue. But the nation that represses honest criticism with severity, like the individual who deadens his symptoms with dangerous drugs, is likely to be lulled into a false security that may prove fatal. Patriot toward Spain and the Philippines alike, Rizal tried to impress this view upon the government of his day, with fatal results to himself, and the disastrous effects of not heeding him have since justified his position.

The very defenses of Old Manila illustrate how the Philippines have suffered from lack of such devoted, honest and courageous critics as José Rizal. The city wall was built some years later than the first Spanish occupation to keep out Chinese pirates after Li Ma-hong destroyed the city. The Spaniards sheltered themselves in the old Tagalog fort till reënforcements could come from the country. No one had ever dared to quote the proverb about locking the door after the horse was stolen. The need for the moat, so recently filled in, was not seen until after the bitter experience of the easy occupation of Manila by the English, but if public opinion had been allowed free expression this experience might have been avoided. And the free space about the walls was cleared of buildings only after these same buildings had helped to make the same occupation of the city easier, yet there were many in Manila who foresaw the danger but feared to foretell it.

Had the people of Spain been free to criticise the Spaniards’ way of waiting to do things until it is too late, Page 3that nation, at one time the largest and richest empire in the world, would probably have been saved from its loss of territory and its present impoverished condition. And had the early Filipinos, to whom splendid professions and sweeping promises were made, dared to complain of the Peninsular policy of procrastination—the “mañana” habit, as it has been called—Spain might have been spared Doctor Rizal’s terrible but true indictment that she retarded Philippine progress, kept the Islands miserably ruled for 333 years and in the last days of the nineteenth century was still permitting mediæval malpractices. Rizal did not believe that his country was able to stand alone as a separate government. He therefore desired to preserve the Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines, but he desired also to bring about reforms and conditions conducive to advancement. To this end he carefully pointed out those colonial shortcomings that caused friction, kept up discontent, and prevented safe progress, and that would have been perfectly easy to correct. Directly as well as indirectly, the changes he proposed were calculated to benefit the homeland quite as much as the Philippines, but his well-meaning efforts brought him hatred and an undeserved death, thus proving once more how thankless is the task of telling unpleasant truths, no matter how necessary it may be to do so. Because Rizal spoke out boldly, while realizing what would probably be his fate, history holds him a hero and calls his death a martyrdom. He was not one of those popularity-seeking, self-styled patriots who are ever mouthing “My country, right or wrong;” his devotion was deeper and more disinterested. When he found his country wrong he willingly sacrificed himself to set her right. Such unselfish spirits are rare; in life they are often misunderstood, but when time does them justice, they come into a fame which endures.

Page 4Doctor Rizal knew that the real Spain had generous though sluggish intentions, and noble though erratic impulses, but it awoke too late; too late for Doctor Rizal and too late to save the Philippines for Spain; tardy reforms after his death were useless and the loss of her overseas possessions was the result. Doctor Rizal lost when he staked his life on his trust in the innate sense of honor of Spain, for that sense of honor became temporarily blinded by a sudden but fatal gust of passion; and it took the shock of the separation to rouse the dormant Spanish chivalry.

Still in the main Rizal’s judgment was correct, and he was the victim of mistimed, rather than of misplaced, confidence, for as soon as the knowledge of the real Rizal became known to the Spanish people, belated justice began to be done his memory, and then, repentant and remorseful, as is characteristically Castilian, there was little delay and no half-heartedness. Another name may now be grouped with Columbus and Cervantes among those to whom Spain has given imprisonment in life and monuments after death—chains for the man and chaplets for his memory. In 1896, during the few days before he could be returned to Manila, Doctor Rizal occupied a dungeon in Montjuich Castle in Barcelona; while on his way to assist the Spanish soldiers in Cuba who were stricken with yellow fever, he was shipped and sent back to a prejudged trial and an unjust execution. Fifteen years later the Catalan city authorities commemorated the semi-centennial of this prisoner’s birth by changing, in his honor, the name of a street in the shadow of the infamous prison of Montjuich Castle to “Calle del Doctor Rizal.”

More instances of this nature are not cited since they are not essential to the proper understanding of Rizal’s story, but let it be made clear once for all that whatever Page 5harshness may be found in the following pages is directed solely to those who betrayed the trust of the mother country and selfishly abused the ample and unrestrained powers with which Spain invested them.

And what may seem the exaltation of the Anglo-Saxons at the expense of the Latins in these pages is intended only to point out the superiority of their ordered system of government, with its checks and balances, its individual rights and individual duties, under which men are “free to live by no man’s leave, underneath the Law.” No human being can be safely trusted with unlimited power, and no man, no matter what his nationality, could have withstood the temptations offered by the chaotic conditions in the Philippines in past times any better than did the Spaniards. There is nothing written in this book that should convey the opinion that in similar circumstances men of any nationality would not have acted as the Spaniards did. The easiest recognized characteristic of absolutism, and all the abuses and corruption it brings in its train, is fear of criticism, and Spain drew her own indictment in the Philippines when she executed Rizal.

When any nation sets out to enroll all its scholarly critics among the martyrs in the cause of Liberty, it makes an open confession of guilt to all the world. For a quarter of a century Spain had been ruling in the Philippines by terrorizing its subjects there, and Rizal’s execution, with utter disregard of the most elementary rules of judicial procedure, was the culmination that drove the Filipinos to desperation and arrested the attention of the whole civilized world. It was evident that Rizal’s fate might have been that of any of his countrymen, and the thinking world saw that events had taken such a course in the Philippines that it had become justifiable for the Filipinos to attempt to dissolve the political Page 6bands which had connected them with Spain for over three centuries.

Such action by the Filipinos would not have been warranted by a solitary instance of unjust execution under stress of political excitement that did not indicate the existence of a settled policy. Such instances are rather to be classed among the mistakes to which governments as well as individuals are liable. Yet even such a mistake may be avoided by certain precautions which experience has suggested, and the nation that disregards these precautions is justly open to criticism.

Our present Philippine government guarantees to its citizens as fundamental rights, that no person shall be held to answer for a capital crime unless on an indictment, nor may he be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. The accused must have a speedy, public and impartial trial, be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, be confronted with the witnesses against him, have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and have the assistance of counsel for his defense. Not one of these safeguards protected Doctor Rizal except that he had an “open trial,” if that name may be given to a courtroom filled with his enemies openly clamoring for his death without rebuke from the court. Even the presumption of innocence till guilt was established was denied him. These precautions have been considered necessary for every criminal trial, but the framers of the American Constitution, fearful lest popular prejudice some day might cause injustice to those advocating unpopular ideals, prohibited the irremediable penalty of death upon a charge of treason except where the testimony of two reliable witnesses established some overt act, inference not being admissible as evidence.