RIZAL:

Life, Works and Writings

by Harren James S. Bautista
Licensed Customs Broker ∣ Master in Public Administration

CHAPTER 4 TRIUMPHS IN ATENEO

Lemery Colleges- COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
 CHAPTER 4 TRIUMPHS IN
ATENEO
• Four months after the martyrdom of GOM-BUR-ZA
and Dona Teodora still in prison, Jose, who had not
yet celebrated his eleventh birthday, was sent to
Manila.
• He studied in the Ateneo Municipal, a college under
the supervision of the Spanish Jesuits.
• This college was a bitter rival of the Dominican-
owned College of San Juan de Letran.
• It was formerly the Escuela Pia (Charity School), a
school for poor boys in Manila which was established
by the city government in 1817.
 CHAPTER 4 TRIUMPHS IN
ATENEO
• When the Jesuits, who had been expelled from the
Philippines in 1768, returned to Manila in 1859,
they were given the management of the Escuela
Pia, whose name was changed to Ateneo
Municipal, and later became the Ateneo de Manila.
• They had lost all their properties during the period
of their exile, hence they were given splendid
educators, so that within a few years Ateneo
acquired wide prestige as an excellent college for
boys.
 Rizal Enters the Ateneo
• On June 10, 1872, Jose, accompanied by
Paciano, went to Manila.
• He took the entrance examinations on Christian
doctrine, arithmetic, and reading at the College
of San Juan de Letran, and passed them all.
• He returned to Calamba to stay a few days with
his family and to attend the town fiesta.
• His father, who first wished him to study at
Letran, changed his mind and decided to send
him to the Ateneo instead.
 Rizal Enters the Ateneo
• Thus, upon his return to Manila, Jose, again
accompanied by Paciano, matriculated at the Ateneo
Municipal.
• At first, Father Magin Ferrando, who was the college
regisrar, refused to admit him for two reasons:
– (1) he was late for registration and
– (2) he was sickly and undersized for his age.
• Rizal was then eleven years old. However, upon the
intercession of Manuel Xerez Burgos, nephew of
Father Burgos, he was reluctantly admitted at the
Ateneo.
 Rizal Enters the Ateneo
• Jose was the first of his family to adopt the
surname "Rizal."
• He registered under this name at the Ateneo
because their first family name "Mercado" had
come under suspicion of the Spanish
authorities.
• Paciano had used "Mercado" as his surname
at the College of San Jose and he was known
to the authorities as Father Burgos' favorite
student and helper.
 Rizal Enters the Ateneo
• At the time Jose studied in the Ateneo, this college
was located in Intramuros, within the walls of
Manila.
• He first boarded in a house outside Intramuros, on
Caraballo Street, 25 minutes' walk from college.
• This boarding house was owned by a spinster
named Titay who owed the Rizal family the amount
of P300.
• Jose boarded with her in order to collect part of the
debt.
 Jesuit System of Education
• The system of education given by the Jesuits in the Ateneo
was advanced from that of other colleges in that period.
• It trained the character of the student by rigid discipline and
religious instruction.
• It promoted physical culture, fine arts and scientific studies.
• Aside from academic courses leading to the degree of A.B.
it offered vocational courses in agriculture, commerce and
mechanics
• The students heard Mass in the morning before the
beginning of the daily class. Class in every subject was
opened and closed with prayers.
 Jesuit System of Education
• Students were divided into two groups, namely: the
Roman Empire consisting of the internos (boarders)
and the Carthaginian Empire composed of the
externos (non- boarders). Each of these empires had
its ranks.
• Best student-the emperor,
• Second best-the tribune
• Third best-the decurion
• Fourth best- the centurion
• Fifth best- the standard-bearer.
– Within the empire, the students fought for positions.
 Jesuit System of Education
• Any student could challenge any officer in his
empire to answer questions on the day's
lesson.
• His opponent could lose his position if he
committed three mistakes.
• Any student might be at the end of the line.
• If he studied hard and was brilliant, he could
depose the officers one after another and be
an emperor.
 Jesuit System of Education
• The two groups, "Roman Empire" and "Carthaginian
Empire," were in perpetual warfare for supremacy in the
class.
• They had their distinctive banners, red for the Romans
and blue for the Carthaginians.
• At the beginning of the school term, both banners were
used equally in the classroom,
• "Upon the first defeat, the banner of the losing party was
transferred to the left side of the room.
• Upon the second, it was placed in an inferior position on
the right side.
 Jesuit System of Education
• Upon the third, the inclined flag was placed on the
left.
• Upon the fourth, the flag was reversed and
returned to the right.
• Upon the fifth, the reversed flag was placed on the
left.
• Upon the sixth, the banner was changed with the
figure of a donkey."
 Jesuit System of Education
• The Ateneo students in Rizal's time wore a uniform
which consisted of "hemp-fabric trousers" and
"striped cotton coat."
• The coat material was called rayadillo, which later
became famous for it was adopted as uniform for
the Filipino troops during the days of the First
Philippine Republic.
 Rizal's First Year in Ateneo
(1872-73).
• On his first day of class in the Ateneo, in June, 1872, Rizal first
heard Mass at the college chapel and prayed fervently to God
for guidance and success.
• When the Mass was finished, he went to his class, where he
saw "a great number of boys, Spaniards, mestizos and
Filipinos.“
• Rizal's first professor in the Ateneo was Fr. Jose Bech, whom
he described as "tall, thin man, with a body slightly bent
forward, a hurried walk, an ascetic face, severe and inspired,
small deèp-sunken eyes, a sharp nose that was almost Greek,
and thin lips forming an arc whose ends fell toward the chin."
 Rizal's First Year in Ateneo
(1872-73).
• Being a newcomer and knowing little Spanish, Rizal was placed
at the bottom of the class. He was an externo, hence he was
assigned to the Carthaginians, occupying the end of the line.
• After the first week, the frail Calamba boy progressed rapidly.
• At the end of the month, he became "emperor." He was the
brightest in the whole class, and he was awarded a prize.
• "How pleased I was," he said, "when I won my first prize, a
religious picture!" That prize was a religious picture. He was
proud of it because it was the first prize he ever won in the
Ateneo.
 Rizal's First Year in Ateneo
(1872-73).
• To improve his Spanish, Rizal took private lessons in Santa
Isabel College during the noon recesses, when other
Ateneo students were playing or gossiping. He paid three
pesos for those extra Spanish lessons, but it was money
well spent.
• In the second half of his year in the Ateneo, Rizal did not
try hard enough to retain his scholarship supremacy
which he held during the first half of the term.
• This was because he resented more remarks of his
professor. He placed second at the end of the year,
although all his grades were still marked "excellent."
 Summer Vacation (1873)
• At the end of the school year in March, 1873, Rizal returned
to Calamba for summer vacation.
• He did not particularly enjoy his vacation because his
mother was in prison.
• To cheer him up, his sister Neneng (Saturnina) brought him
to Tanawan with her.
• This did not cure his melancholy.
• Without telling his father, he went to Santa Cruz and visited
his mother in prison.
• He told her of his brilliant grades in the Ateneo and tearfully
embraced each other.
 Summer Vacation (1873)
• The summer vacation ended, Rizal returned to
Manila for his second year term in the Ateneo.
• This time he boarded inside Intramuros at No. 6
Magallanes Street.
• His landlady was an old widow named Doña
Pepay, who had a widowed daughter and four
sons.
 Second Year in Ateneo
(1873-74).
• Nothing unusual happened to Rizal during his
second term in the Ateneo, except that he
repented having neglected his studies the previous
year simply because he was offended by the
teacher's remarks, and so, to regain his lost class
leadership, he studied harder. Once more, he
became "emperor.“
• Some of his classmates were new. Among them
were three boys from Biñan, who had been his
classmates in the school of Maestro Justiniano.
 Second Year in Ateneo
(1873-74).
• At the end of the school year, Rizal received
excellent grades in all subjects and a gold medal.
• With such scholastic honors he triumphantly
returned to Calamba in March 1874 for summer
vacation
 Prophecy of Mother’s Release
• Rizal lost no time in going to Santa Cruz in order to
visit his mother in the provincial jail.
• He gladdened Doña Teodora's lonely heart with his
scholastic triumphs in Ateneo and with funny tales
about his professors and fellow students.
• The mother was very happy to see her favorite
child making such splendid progress in college.
• In the course of their conversation, Dona Teodora
told her son of her dream the previous night.
 Prophecy of Mother’s Release
• Rizal, interpreting such dream, said to her that she would be
released from prison in three months' time.
• Doña Teodora smiled, thinking that her son's prophecy was a
mere boyish attempt to console her.
• But Rizal's prophecy became true. Barely three months passed,
and suddenly Doña Teodora was set free.
• By that time, Rizal was already in Manila attending his classes in
the Ateneo.
• Doña Teodora, happily back in Calamba, was more proud of her
son Jose who was like the youthful Joseph in the Bible. The
Biblical Joseph was the youngest and most beloved son of
Jacob.
 Teenage Interest in Reading
• The first favorite novel of Rizai was The Count of
Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.
• This thrilling novel made a deep impression on him.
• His boyish imagination was stirred by the sufferings
of Edmond Dantes (the hero) in prison, his
spectacular escape from the dungeon of Chateau
d'If, his finding of the buried treasure on the rocky
island of Monte Cristo, and his dramatic revenge on
his enemies who wronged him.
 Teenage Interest in Reading
• Rizal read numerous other romantic novels with deep
interest.
• The reading habit helped to enrich his fecund mind.
• As a voracious reader, he read not only fiction, but also
non-fiction.
• He persuaded his father to buy him a costly set of
Cesar Cantu's historical work entitled Universal History.
• According to Rizal, this valuable work was of great aid
in his studies and enabled him to win more prizes in
Ateneo.
 Teenage Interest in Reading
• Later Rizal read Travels in the Philippines by
Dr. Feodor Jagor, German scientist-traveler
who had visited the Philippines.
• What impressed him in this book were
– 1) Jagor's keen observations of the defects of
Spanish colonization and
– (2) his prophecy that someday Spain would lose
the Philippines and that America would come to
succeed her as colonizer.
 Third Year in Ateneo (1874-75).
• In June, 1874, Rizal returned to the Ateneo for his junior year.
• Shortly after the opening of classes, his mother arrived and
joyously told him that she was released from prison, just as he
predicted during his last visit to her prison cell in Santa Cruz,
Laguna.
• He was happy, of course, to see his mother once more a free
woman.
• He failed to win the medal in Spanish because his spoken
Spanish was not fluently sonorous.
• He was beaten by a Spaniard who, naturally, could speak
Spanish with fluency and with right accentuation.
 Third Year in Ateneo (1874-75).
• However, despite the family happiness, Rizal did not
make an excellent showing in his studies as in the
previous year.
• His grades remained excellent in all subjects, but he
won only one medal-in Latin.
• At the end of the school year (March, 1875), Rizal
returned to Calamba for summer vacation.
• He, himself, was not impressed by his scholastic
work. He said; "I returned dissatisfied to my home
town."
 Fourth Year in Ateneo (1875-76).
• After a refreshing and happy summer vacation,
Rizal went back to Manila for his fourth year
course.
• On June 14, 1875, he became an internee in the
Ateneo.
• One of his professors this time was Fr. Francisco
Sanchez, a great educator and scholar.
• He inspired young Rizal to study harder and write
poetry.
 Fourth Year in Ateneo (1875-76).
• He became an admirer and friend of the slender
Calamba lad, whose God-given genius he saw and
recognized since their first meeting.
• On his part, Rizal had the highest affection and respect
for Father Sanchez, whom he considered his most
beloved professor in the Ateneo.
• Years later Rizal wrote of Father Sanchez in glowing
terms, showing his affection and gratitude.
• He described this Jesuit professor as "a model of
rectitude, solicitude, and devotion to his pupils' progress.
 Fourth Year in Ateneo (1875-76).
• Inspired by Father Sanchez, Rizal resumed his
studies with vigor and zest.
• He topped all his classmates in all subjects and
won five medals at the end of the school term.
• He returned to Calamba for his summer vacation
(March, 1876) and proudly offered his five medals
and excellent ratings to his parents.
• He was extremely happy, for he was able to repay
his "father somewhat for his sacrifices."
 Last Year in Ateneo (1876-77)
• After the summer vacation, Rizal returned to Manila
in June, 1876 for his last year in Ateneo.
• His studies continued to fare well. As a matter-of-
fact he excelled in all subjects.
• The most brilliant Atenean of his time, he was truly
"the pride of the Jesuits," Rizal finished his last year
in the Ateneo in a blaze of glory.
• He obtained the highest grades in all subjects
-philosophy, physics, biology, chemistry, languages,
mineralogy, etc.
 Graduation with
Highest Honors.
• Rizal graduated at the head of his class. His scholastic
records at the Ateneo from 1872 to 1877 are as
follows:
• Arithmetic, Latin 1, Spanish 1, Greek 1, Latin 2,
Spanish 2, Greek 2, Universal Geography, Latin 3,
Spanish 3, Greek 3, Universal History, History of Spain
and the Philippines, Arithmetic & Algebra, Rhetoric &
Poetry, French 1, Geometry & Trigonometry,
Philosophy 1. .Mineralogy & Chemistry, Philosophy 2,
Physics, Botany & Zoology. =EXCELLENT
 Graduation with
Highest Honors.
• On Commencement Day, March 23, 1877, Rizal,
who was 16 years old, received from his Alma
Mater, Ateneo Municipal, the degree of Bachelor
of Arts, with highest honors.
• It was a proud day for his family.
• But to Rizal, like all graduates, Commencement Day
was a time of bitter sweetness, a joy mellowed
with poignancy.
 Graduation with
Highest Honors.
• The night before graduation, his last night at
the college dormitory, he could not sleep.
• Early the following morning, the day of
graduation, he prayed fervently at the college
chapel and commended my life," as he said,
"to the Virgin so that she might protect me
when I set foot in that world which inspired
me with such dread."
 Extra-Curricular Activities
at Ateneo.
• Rizal, unsurpassed in academic triumphs, was not a
mere bookworm.
• He was active in extra-curricular activities. An
"emperor" inside the classroom, he was a campus
leader outside.
• He was an active member, later secretary, of a
religious society, the Marian Congregation.
• He was accepted as member of this sodality not only
because of his academic brilliance but also because
of his devotion to Our Lady.
 Extra-Curricular Activities
at Ateneo.
• Only Ateneans who distinguished themselves in
class for their piety and good scholarship could be
members of this society.
• Rizal was also a member of the Academy of Spanish
Literature and the Academy of Natural Sciences.
• These "academies" were exclusive societies in the
Ateneo, to which only Ateneans who were gifted in
literature and sciences could qualify for
membership.
 Extra-Curricular Activities
at Ateneo.
• In his leisure hours, Rizal cultivated his literary
talents under the guidance of Father Sanchez.
• Another professor, Father Jose Vilaclara, advised
him to stop communing with the Muses and pay
more attention to more practical studies, such as
philosophy and natural sciences.
• Rizal did not heed his advice.
• He continued to solicit Father Sanchez' help in
improving his poetry.
 Extra-Curricular Activities
at Ateneo.
• Aside from writing poetry, he devoted his spare time in
fine arts.
• He studied painting under the famous Spanish painter,
Agustin Saez, and sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus
noted Filipino sculptor.
• Both art masters honored him with their affection, for he
was a talented pupil.
• Furthermore, Rizal, to develop his weak body, engaged in
gymnastics and fencing.
• He thereby continued the physical training he began
under his sports-minded Uncle Manuel.
 Sculptural Works in Ateneo

• Rizal impressed his Jesuit professors in the Ateneo

with his artistic skill.
• One day he carved an image of Our Virgin Mary on a
piece of batikuling (Philippine hardwood) with his
pocket-knife.
• The Jesuit Fathers were amazed at the beauty and
grace of the image.
• Father Lleonart, impressed by Rizal's sculptural
talent, requested him to carve for him an image of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
 Sculptural Works in Ateneo
• Young Rizal complied, and within a few days he presented it to
Father Lleonart.
• The old Jesuit was highly pleased and profusely thanked the
teenage sculptor.
• He intended to take the image with him to Spain, but, being an
absent-mined professor, he forgot to do so.
• The Ateneo boarding students placed it on the door of their
dormitory, and there it remained for nearly 20 years, reminding
all Ateneans of Dr. Rizal, the greatest alumnus of their Alma
Mater.
• This image played a significant part in Rizal's last hours at Fort
Santiago.
 POEMS WRITTEN IN ATENEO

• The first poem Rizal probably wrote during his days

in the Ateneo was Mi Primera Inspiracion (My First
Inspiration) which was dedicated to his mother on
her birthday.
• It is said that he wrote it before he was 14 years
old, that is, in the year 1874
• Other poems include religious poems and poems
on education.
 FIRST ROMANCE OF RIZAL

• Shortly after his graduation from the Ateneo, Rizal, who

was then sixteen years old, experienced his first
romance-- that painful experience which comes to nearly
all adolescents."
• The girl was Segunda Katigbak, a pretty fourteen-year old
Batangueña from Lipa.
• In Rizal's own words: "She was rather short, with eyes
that were eloquent and ardent at times and languid at
others, rosy-cheeked, with an enchanting and provocative
smile that revealed very beautiful teeth, and the air of a
sylph; her entire self diffused a mysterious charm.“
 FIRST ROMANCE OF RIZAL

• One Sunday Rizal visited his maternal grandmother who lived in

Trozo, Manila. He was accompanied by his friend, Mariano Katigbak.
• His old grandmother was a friend of the Katigbak family of Lipa.
When he reached his grandmother's house, he saw other guests.
• One of whom was an attractive girl, who mysteriously caused his
heart to palpitate with strange ecstasy. She was the sister of his
friend Mariano, and her name was Segunda.
• His grandmother's guests, who were mostly college students, knew
of his skill in painting, so that they urged him to draw Segunda's
portrait. He complied reluctantly and made a pencil sketch of her.
"From time to time," he reminisced later, "she looked at me, and I
blushed."
 FIRST ROMANCE OF RIZAL

• Rizal came to know Segunda more intimately during his

weekly visits to La Concordia College, where his sister
Olimpia was a boarding student.
• Olimpia was a close friend of Segunda. It was apparent that
Rizal and Segunda loved each other.
• Theirs was indeed "a love at first sight." But it was hopeless
since the very beginning because Segunda was already
engaged to be married to her townmate, Manuel Luz.
• Rizal, for all his artistic and intellectual prowess, was a shy
and timid lover. Segunda had manifested, by insinuation and
deeds, her affection for him, but he timidly failed to propose.
 FIRST ROMANCE OF RIZAL

• The last time they talked to each other was one Thursday
in December, 1877, when Christmas vacation was about to
begin.
• He visited Segunda at La Concordia Collegę to say good-bye
because he was going home to Calamba the following day.
• She on her part told him she was also going home one day
later. She kept quiet after her brief reply, waiting for him to
say something her heart was clamoring to hear.
• But Rizal failed to come up to her expectation. He could
only mumble: "Well, good-bye. Anyway l'll see you when
you pass Calamba on your way to Lipa."
 FIRST ROMANCE OF RIZAL

• The next day Rizal arrived by steamer in his hometown, Her

mother did not recognize him at first, due to her failing
eyesight.
• He was saddened to find out his mother's growing blindness.
His sisters gaily welcomed him, teasing him about Segunda, for
they knew of his romance through Olimpia.
• The following day (Saturday) he learned that the steamer
carrying Segunda and her family would not anchor at Calamba
because of the strong winds; it would stop in Biñan.
• He saddled his white horse and waited at the road. A cavalcade
of carromatas from Biñan passed by. In one of them was
Segunda smiling and waving her handkerchief at him.
 FIRST ROMANCE OF RIZAL
• He doffed his hat and was tongue-tied to say anything. Her
carriage rolled on and vanished in the distance like "a swift
shadow."
• He returned home, dazed and de- solate, with his first romance
"ruined by his own shyness and reserve." The first girl, whom he
loved with ardent fervor, was lost to him forever. She returned
to Lipa and married Manuel Luz. He remained in Calamba, a
frustrated lover, cherishing nostalgic memories of a lost love.
• Three years later, Rizal, recording his first and tragic romance,
said: "Ended, at an early hour, my first love! My virgin heart will
always mourn the reckless step it took on the flower-decked
abyss. My illusions will return, yes, but indifferent, uncertain,
ready for the first betrayal on the path of love."