Chapter 6


In Sunny Spain
(1882-1885)
 
After finishing the 4th
year of the medical course
in the UST, Jose Rizal
decided to complete his
studies in Spain.
 
At that time, the government of Spain
was a constitutional monarchy under a
written constitution which granted
human rights to the people, particularly
freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, and the freedom of assembly.
 
Aside from this ostensible reason, he
had another reason, which was more
important than merely completing his
studies in Spain.
This was his “secret mission” which
many Rizalist biographers (including
Austin Craig and Wenceslao E. Retana)
never mention in their writings.
 Rizal's Secret Mission
 This mission which 
Rizal conceived with the
approval of his older brother Paciano was to
observe keenly the life and culture, languages
and customs, industries and commerce, and
governments and laws of the European nations
in order to prepare himself in the mighty task of
liberating his oppressed people from Spanish
cruelty.
 This was evidenced in his farewell letter which
was delivered to his parents shortly after his
departures.
 
This Rizalian secret mission was
likewise disclosed by Paciano in his
letter to his younger brother dated
Manila, May 20, 1982.
 Secret Departure for Spain

 Rizal's departure for Spain was kept secret to avoid detection by
the Spanish authorities and the friars.

 The people who only knew his departure to Spain:

- older brother (Paciano),
-his uncle (Antonio Rivera, father of Leonor Rivera),
-his sisters (Neneng and Lucia),
-the Valenzuela family (Capitan Juan and Capitana Sanday
and their daughter Orang),
-Pedro A. Paterno,
-his compadre Mateo Evangelista,
-the Chengoy (Jose M. Cecelio)
 Secret Departure for Spain

The kind Jesuit priests gave him letters of
recommendation to the members of their
Society in Barcelona.
He used the name Jose Mercado, a cousin
from Biñan.
May 3, 1882, Rizal departed on board the
Spanish steamer Salvadora bound for
Singapore.
 Singapore

During the voyage to Singapore, there were
sixteen passengers, including himself---five
or six ladies, many children, and the rest
gentlemen.
He was the only Filipino, the rest were
Spaniards, British, and Indian Negroes.
 Singapore

 Donato Lecha
- the ship captain from Asturias, Spain, who
befriended him.
-Rizal described him in his travel diary as an
affable man,“ much more refined than his other
countrymen and colleagues that I have met”.
 He was however, peeved by some Spaniards (his
fellow passengers) who spoke ill of the Philippines,
″to which they go for pecuniary reasons”.
 Singapore

 May 8, 1882, while the steamer was approaching Singapore,
Rizal saw a beautiful island. Fascinated by its scenic beauty,
he remembered ″Talim Isalnd with the Susong Dalaga″.
 May 9 the Salvadora docked at Singapore. Rizal landed,
registered at Hotel de la Paz, and spent two days on a
sightseeing soiree of the city, which was a colony of
England.
 He saw the famous Botanical Garden, the beautiful
Buddhist temples, the busy shopping district, and the
statue of Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles (founder of
Singapore)
From Singapore to Colombo

 In Singapore Rizal transferred to another ship
Djemnah, a French steamer, which left Singapore
for Europe on May 11.
It was a larger and cleaner vessel which carried
more passengers. Among these passengers were
British, French, Dutch, Spaniards, Malays,
Siamese, and Filipinos (Mr. and Mrs. Salazar,
Mr. Vicente Pardo, and Jose Rizal).
From Singapore to Colombo

On May 17, the Djemnah reached Point Galle, a
seacoast town in southern Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
Rizal was unimpressed by this town. On his travel
diary, he wrote: ″The general appearance of Point
Galle is picturesque but lonely and quiet and the
same time sad″.
He delightfully scribbled on his diary: ″Colombo is
more beautiful, smart and elegant than Singapore,
Point Galle, and Manila″.
 First Trip to Suez Canal

From Colombo the Djemnah continued the voyage
crossing the Indian Ocean to the Cape of
Guardafui, Africa.
For the first time, Rizal sighted the barren coast of
Africa, which he called an ″inhospitable land but
famous″.
At the next stopover in Aden, Rizal went ashore to
see the sights. He found the city, hotter than
Manila.
 First Trip to Suez Canal
He was amused to see  the camels, for it was the
first time he saw these animals.
From Aden, the Djemnah proceeded to the city of
Suez, the Red Sea terminal of the Suez Canal.
What impressed him most was the beautiful
moonlight which reminded him of Calamba and
his family.
It took the Djemnah five days to traverse the Suez
Canal. Rizal was thrilled because it was his first
trip through this Canal which was built by
Ferdinand de Lesseps ( French Diplomat-Engineer).
 First Trip to Suez Canal

It was inaugurated on November 17, 1869. At
Port Said, the Mediterranean terminal of the
Suez Canal, Rizal landed in order to see the
interesting sights.
He was fascinated to hear the multi-racial
inhabitants speaking a babel of tongues-
Arabic, Egyptian, Greek, French, Italian,
Spanish, etc.
 Naples and Marseilles

From Port Said, the Djemnah proceeded on its way
to Europe.
June 11, Rizal reached Naples. This Italian City
pleased him because of its Business activity, its
lively people and its panoramic beauty.
He was fascinated by Mount Vesuvius, the Castle
of St. Telmo, and other historic sights of the city.
On the night of June 12,the steamer docked at the
French harbor of Marseilles.
He visited the famous Chateau d’lf, where Dantes,
hero of The Count of Monte Cristo, was imprisoned.
 Barcelona

In the afternoon of June 15, Rizal left Marseille
by train for the last lap of his trip to Spain.
He crossed the Pyrenees and stopped for a
day at the frontier town of Port-Bou.
After the passport inspection at Port-Bou,
Rizal continued his trip by rail, finally
reaching his destination- Barcelona on June 16,
1882.
 Barcelona
 Rizal’s first impression 
of Barcelona, the greatest city
of Cataluña and Spain’s second largest city, was
unfavorable.
 He found it to be really a great city, with an
atmosphere of freedom and liberalism, and its people
were open-hearted, hospitable and courageous.
 He enjoyed promenading along Las Ramblas, the most
famous street n Barcelona.
 The Filipinos in Barcelona, some of whom were his
schoolmates in the Ateneo, welcomed Rizal. They gave
him a party at their favorite café in Plaza de Cataluña.
 ″Amor Patrio″

In progressive Barcelona, Rizal wrote a
nationalistic essay entitled ″Amor Patrio″(Love of
Country), his first article written in Spain’s soil.
He sent this article to his friend in Manila, Basilio
Teodoro Moran, publisher of Diariong Tagalog, the
first Manila bilingual newspaper (Spanish and
Tagalog).
Rizal’s ″Amor Patrio″ under his pen-name Laong
Laan, appeared in print in Diariong Tagalog on
August 20, 1882.
It was published in two text- Spanish and Tagalog.
 ″Amor Patrio″
 The Spanish text was the one originally written by Rizal in
Barcelona.

 The Tagalog text was a Tagalog translation made by M.H.
del Pilar.
 Publisher Basilio Teodoro Moran, deeply impressed by
″Amor Patrio″, congratulated Rizal and requested for more
articles.
 In response to his request, Rizal wrote the second article,
entitled ″Los Viajes″ (Travels).
 His third article, entitled ″Revista de Madrid″ (Review of
Madrid), which he wrote in Madrid on November 29, 1882,
was returned to him because the Diariong Tagalog had ceased
publication for lack of funds
 Manila Moves to Madrid
 According to Paciano’s letter, dated September 15, 1882, the
Calamba folks were having afternoon novenas to San Roque
and nocturnal processions and prayers so that God may
stop the dreadful epidemic, which the Spanish help
authorities were impotent to check.
 Another sad news from the Philippines was the chatty letter
of Chengoy recounting the unhappiness of Leonor Rivera,
who was getting thinner because of the absence of a loved
one.
 In one of his letters dated May 26, 1882, Paciano advised his
younger brother to finish the medical course in Madrid.
Evidently, heading his advise, Rizal left Barcelona in the fall
of 1882 and established himself in Madrid, the capital of
Spain.
 Life in Madrid

 On November 3, 1882, Rizal enrolled in the
Universidad Central de Madrid in two courses –
Medicine and philosophy and Letters. Aside from
his heavy studies in the university, he studied
painting and sculpture in the Academy of Fine Arts
of San Fernando, took lessons in French, German,
and English under private instructors; and
assiduously practised fencing and shooting in the
Hall of Arms of Sanz y Carbonell.
 Life in Madrid

 His thirst for knowledge of music, he visited the art
galleries and museums and read books on all subjects
under the sun, including military engineering, in order
to broaden his cultural background.
 Rizal led a Spartan life in Madrid. He knew that he
came to Spain to study and prepare himself for service
to his fatherland. Accordingly, he rigidly budgeted his
money and time. He lived frugally, spending his
money on food, clothing, lodging, and books – never
wasting a peseta for gambling, wine, and women.
 Life in Madrid

 His only extravagance was investing a few pesetas
for a lottery ticket in every draw of the Madrid
Lottery. He spent his leisure time reading and
writing at his boarding house, attending the reunions
of Filipino students at the house of Paterno
brothers( Antonio, Maximino, and Pedro ), and
practicing fencing and shooting at the gymnasium.
At the other times, during the summer twilights, he
sipped coffee and fraternized with the students from
Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, etc., at the Antigua Café de
Levante.
 Romance with Consuelo
Ortiga y Perez

 Rizal was not a handsome man. In physique, he was
neither dashing nor imposing, for he was a shy small
man – a few inches above five feet in height. But he
possessed an aura of charisma due to his many-
splendored talents and noble character which made
him attractive to romantic young women. No
wonder the prettier of Don Pablo`s
daughters(Consuelo) fell in love with him.
 Romance with Consuelo
Ortiga y Perez

 Rizal, being a lonely young man in a foreign country, far
from his natal land, was attracted by Consuelo`s beauty and
vivacity. He even composed a lovely poem on August 22,
1883 dedicated to her. In this poem titled A La Senorita C.
O. y P. (To Miss C. O y P.), he expressed his admiration for
her. He found solace and joy in her company.
 However, before his romance with Consuelo could blossom
into a serious affair, he suddenly backed out for two
reasons: 1. he was still engaged to Leonor Rivera and 2. his
friend and co-worker in the Propaganda Movement,
Eduardo de Lete, was madly in love with Consuelo and he
had no wish to break their frienship because of a pretty girl.
They Ask Me For Verses

 In 1882 shortly after his arrival in Madrid, Rizal
joined the Circulo Hispano-Filipino, a society of
Spaniards and Filipinos. Upon the request of the
members of this society, he wrote a poem entitled
Me Pedin Versos (they ask me for verses) which he
personally declaimed during the New Year`s Eve
reception of the Madrid Filipinos held in the evening
of December 31, 1882. In this sad poem, he poured
out the cry of his agonizing heart.
 Rizal as Lover of Books

 A favorite pastime of Rizal in Madrid was reading.
Instead of gambling and flirting with women, as
many young Filipinos did in the Spanish metropolis,
he stayed at home and read voraciously until
midnight. Since early childhood, he liked to read.
 Rizal economized on his living expenses, and with
the money he saved, he purchased books from a
second-hand book store owned by a certain Senor
Roses. He was able to build a fair-sized private
library.
Rizal`s First visit to Paris

 During his first summer vacation in Madrid Rizal went
to Paris, sojourning in this gay capital of France from
June 17 to August 20, 1883. At first, he was billeted at
the Hotel de Paris on 37 Rue de Maubange; later, he
moved to a cheaper hotel on 124 Rue de Rennes in the
Latin Quarter, where it was cheaper to live.
 On the lighter side of his visit in Paris, Rizal was
mistaken by the Parisians as a Japanese. The prices of
food, drinks, theatre tickets, laundry, hotel
accommodations, and transportation were too high for
his slender purse so that he commented in a letter to
his family: Paris is the cosliest capital in Europe.
 Rizal as a Mason

 In Spain Rizal came in close contact with prominent
Spanish liberal and republican Spaniards, who were
mostly Masons.
 Rizal was impressed by the way the Spanish Mason
openly and freely criticized the government policies
and lambasted the friars, which could not be done in
the Philippines. In due time, in March 1883, he joined
the Masonic lodge called Acacia in Madrid. His
reason for becoming a mason was to secure
Freemasonry`s aid in his fight against the friars in the
Philippines.
 Rizal as a Mason

 Since the friars used the Catholic religion as a shield
to entrench themselves in power and wealth and to
persecute the Filipino patriots, he intended to utilize
Freemasonry as his shield to combat them.
 Later he transferred to Lodge Solidaridad (Madrid),
where he became a Master of Mason on November
15, 1890. Still later, on February 15, 1892, he was
awarded the diploma as Master Mason by Le Grand
Orient de France in Paris.
 Rizal as a Mason

As a Mason, Rizal played a lukewarm role in
Freemasonry, unlike M.H. del Pilar, G. Lopez
Jaena, and Mariano Ponce who were very
active in Masonic affairs.
His only Masonic writing was a lecture titled
“Science, Virtue and Labor,” which he
delivered in 1889 at Lodge Solidaridad,Madrid.
 Financial Worries

 After Rizal’s departure for Spain, things turned from
bad to worse in Calamba. The harvests of rice and
sugarcane failed on account of drought and locusts.
On top of this economic disaster, the manager of the
Dominican-owned hacienda increased the rentals of
the lands cultivated by the Rizal family. This
hacienda manager, a frequent guest at the Rizal
home, used to ask for a turkey from Don Francisco
(the hero’s father), who was a good raiser of turkeys.
 Financial Worries

Due to hard times in Calamba, the monthly
allowances of Rizal in Madrid were late in
arrival and there were times when they never
arrived, causing much suffering to him. At
one time Paciano was forced to sell his
younger brother’s pony in order to send
money to Madrid.
 Financial Worries

 A touching incident in Rizal’s life in Madrid
occurred on June 24, 1884. Because he was broke, he
was unable to take breakfast that day. With an empty
stomach, he attended his class at the university,
participated in the contest in Greek language and
won the gold medal. In the evening of the same day
he was able to eat dinner, for he was a guest speaker
in a banquet held in honor of Juan Luna and Felix
Resurrection Hidalgo and Restaurant Ingles, Madrid.
 Rizal’s Salute to Luna and
Hidalgo

 The banquet on the evening of June 25, 1884 was
sponsored by the Filipino community to celebrate the
double victory of the Filipino artist in the National
Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid- Luna’s Spolarium
winning first prize and Hidalgo’s Christian Virgins
Exposed to the Populace,second price. It was attended
by prominent Spanish artists, newspapermen, and
men-of-letters, statesmen, and Filipinos.
 Rizal’s Salute to Luna and
Hidalgo

 Speaking in sonorous Castilian, Rizal held his
audience spellbound. He saluted Luna and Hidalgo
as the two glories of Spain and the Philippines,
whose artistic achievements transcended
geographical frontiers and racial origins, for genius
is universal-“genius knows no country, genius
sprouts everywhere, genius is like light, air, the
patrimony of everybody, cosmopolitan like space,
like life, like God.”
 Rizal Involved in Student
Demonstration

 On November 20, 21, and 22, 1884, the serene city of
Madrid exploded in bloody riots by the students of
the Central University. Rizal and other Filipino
students participated, together with Cuban, Mexican,
Peruvian, and Spanish students, in the tumult. These
student demonstrations were cause by the address of
Dr. Miguel Morayta, professor of history, at the
opening ceremonies of the academic year on
November 20, in which he proclaim “the freedom of
science and the teacher”.
 Rizal Involved in Student
Demonstration

 Such a liberal view was condemned by the Catholic
bishops of Spain, who promptly excommunicated
Dr. Morayta and those who applauded his speech.
 Bloody fights raged in the university buildings and
in the city streets. The student were armed with
clubs, stones, and fists, fought the government
forces.
Studies Completed in Spain

 Rizal completed his medical course in Spain. He was
conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the
Universidad Central de Madrid on June 21, 1884. the
next academic year (1884-85) he studied and passed
all subjects leading to the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. Due to the fact,.however, that he did not
present the thesis required for graduation nor paid
corresponding fees, he was not awarded his Doctor’s
diploma.
Studies Completed in Spain

 At long last, Rizal completed his studies in Spain. By
obtaining the degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and
Letters, he became qualified to be a professor of
humanities in any Spanish university. And by
receiving his degree of Licentiate in Medicine, he
became a full-fledged physician, qualified to practise
medicine. He did not bother to secure the post-
graduate degree of Doctor of Medicine because it
was, together with the licentiate in philosophy and
letters, good only for teaching purposes.
Studies Completed in Spain

 Thus he said, in his letter to his family written in
Madrid, November 26, 1884: “My doctorate is not of
very much value to me…because although it is
useful to a university professor, yet I believe the
(Dominican friars-Z) will never appoint me as such
in the College of Santo Tomas. I say the same thing
of philosophy and letters which may serve also for a
professorship, but I doubt if the Dominican fathers
will grant it to me.”
 
Chapter 7
Paris to Berlin
(1885-87)
 Chapter 7
Paris to Berlin (1885-87)

 After completing his studies in Madrid, Rizal went to
Paris and Germany in order to specialize in
ophthalmology. He particularly chose this branch of
medicine because he wanted to cure his mother’s eye
ailment. He served as assistant to the famous oculist
of Europe. He also continued his travels and
observations of European life and customs,
government and laws in Paris, Heidelberg, Leipzig,
and Berlin.
 
He met and befriended several top
German scientists, Dr. Feodor Jagor, Dr.
Adolph B. Meyer, Dr. Hans Meyer, and
Dr. Rudolf Virchow. His merits as a
scientist were recognized by the
eminent scientists of Europe.
 In Gay Paris (1885-86)

 After terminating his studies at the Central University
of Madrid, Rizal, who was then 24 years old and
already a physician, went to Paris in order to acquire
more knowledge in ophthalmology.
 On his way to Paris, he stopped at Barcelona to visit his
friend, Maximo Viola, medical student and a member
of a rich family of San Miguel, Bulacan. He stayed for a
week, during which time he befriended Senor Eusebio
Corominas, editor of the newspaper La Publicidad and
made a crayon sketch of Don Miguel Morayta, owner
of La Publicidad and statesman.
 In Gay Paris (1885-86)

In November 1885, Rizal was living in Paris,
where he sojourned for about four months.
He worked as an assistant to Dr. Louis de
Weckert (1852-1906), leading French
ophthalmologist, from November 1885 to
February 1886. he rapidly improved his
knowledge of ophthalmology, as revealed by
his letter to his parents on January 1, 1886.
 Rizal as Musician

Music played an important part in all
Filipino reunions in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris,
and other cities of Europe. The Filipino
contemporaries of Rizal could either play an
instrument or sing.
Rizal had no natural aptitude for music, and
this he admitted. But he studied music
because many of his schoolmates at the
Ateneo were taking music lessons.
 Rizal as Musician

In a letter dated November 27, 1878, he told
Enrique Lete that he “learned the solfeggio,
the piano, and voice culture in one month
and a half”. However, he confessed that he
could not sing well. “If you could hear me
sing,” he wrote to Lete, “you would wish you
were in Spain because my voice is like the
braying of the asses”.
 Rizal as Musician

It is said that he even composed some
songs, particularly Alin Mang Lahi (Any
Race), a parioticsong which asserts that
any race aspires for freedom, and a sad
danza, La Deportacion (Deportation),
which he composed in Dapitan during
his exile.
 In Historic Heidelberg

 He visited Starsbourg (capital of Alsace Lorraine)
and other German boarder towns.
 On February 3, 1886, he arrived in Heidelberg, a
historic city in Germany famous for its old university
and romantic surroundings.
 He became the member of the Chess Player’s Club.
He became popular among the German students
because he joined them in their chess games and
beer-drinking, and watched their friendly saber
duels.
 “To the Flowers of Heidelberg”

In the Spring of 1886, Rizal was fascinated by
the blooming flowers along the cool banks of
the Neckar River. Among them was his
favorite flower- the light blue “forget-me-
not”.
The beautiful spring flowers reminded him
of the blooming flowers at the garden of his
home in Calamba. In his mood of
homesickness, he wrote on April 22, 1886, a
fine poem, “A Las Flores de Heidelberg” (To the
flowers of Heidelberg).
 In Leipzig and Dresden

 He boarded a train, visited various cities of Germany,
and arrived in Leipzig on August 14,1886. He attended
some lectures at the University of Leipzig on history and
psychology.
 He befriended Professor Friedrich Ratzel, a famous
German historian, and Dr. Hans Meyer, German
Anthropologist.
 In Leipzig, Rizal translated Schiller’s William Tell from
German into Tagalog so that Filipinos might know the
story of the champion of Swiss independence.
 In Leipzig and Dresden

 Later, he also translated into Tagalog for his nephews and
nieces Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tale.
 Rizal found out that the cost of living in Leipzig was
cheapest in Europe so that he stayed two months and a half
in this German city.
 On October 29, he left Leipzig for Dresden, were he met Dr.
Adolph B. Meyer, Director of the Anthropological and
Ethnological Museum.
 ″Truly I have never in my life heard a Mass whose music
had greater sublimity and intonation″.
 In the morning of November 1, Rizal left Dresden by train,
reaching Berlin in the evening.
 Rizal Welcomed in Berlin’s
Scientific Circles

Rizal was enchanted by Berlin because of its
scientific atmosphere and the absence of race
prejudice.
He met for the first time Dr. Feodor Jagor,
celebrated German scientist-traveler and author of
Travels in the Philippines, a book which Rizal read
and admired during his student days in Manila.
Dr. Jagor visited the Philippines in 1859-60, before
Rizal was born.
 Rizal Welcomed in Berlin’s
Scientific Circles
 Rizal to Dr. Rudolf
 Dr. Jagor, in turn, introduced
Virchow, famous German Anthropologist, and the
latters son, Dr. Hans Virchow, professor of Descriptive
Anatomy.
 Rizal also met Dr. W. Joest, noted German Geographer.
Who work in the clinic of Dr. Karl Ernest Schweigger,
(1830-1905) famous German opthalmologist.
 Tagalische Verkunst (Tagalog Metrical Art), which Rizal
read before the society in April 1887. This paper was
published by the society in the same year, and it
elicited favorable comments from all scientific quarters.
 Rizal’s Life in Berlin

In Berlin, Rizal was not a mere student a curious
tourist. He lived in his famous capital of unified
Germany for five reasons:
1. To gain further knowledge of ophthalmology
2. To further his studies of sciences and languages
3. To observe the economic had political conditions
of the German nation
4. To associate with famous German scientists and
scholars
5. To published his novel, Noli Me Tangere.
 Rizal’s Life in Berlin

He took private lessons under a professor of
French, Madame Lucie Cerdole in order to master
the idiomatic intricacies of the French language.
He spent his leisure moment during the country
sides around Berlin, observing keenly the customs,
dresses, homes and occupation of the peasants.
He also enjoyed promenading along Under den
Linden , the most popular boulevard of Berlin,
sipping beer in the city’s inns and talking with the
friendly Berliners.
Rizal on German Women


One of his important letters written while he was in
Germany was that addressed to his sister, Trinidad,
dated March 11, 1886.
In this letter, Rizal expressed his high regard and
admiration for German womanhood.
The German woman, said Rizal to his sister, is
serious, diligent, educated, and friendly. She is not
gossipy, frivolous and quarrelsome like the Spanish
woman. She is not particular about beautiful dresses
and expensive jewelry, though she could dress
nicely like any other woman in the world.
Rizal on German Women

 Rizal regretted that in the Philippines, the
women are more interested in how they dress
than in how much they know.
 He praised, however, the delicacy of feeling, the
fine manners, devotion, and hospitality of the
Filipino women, especially those in the
provinces who are not yet sophisticated.
 If only they can cultivate their intellect by
education and taking more interest in worldly
affairs, remarked Rizal, they can command the
respect of all men.
Rizal on German Women

Accordingly, Rizal advised his sister,
Trinidad: “Now that you are still young
you should strive to read, read, and
learn. You must not allow yourself to
be conquered by indolence (laziness)
because it costs so little to cast it off.”
 German Customs
 The Christmas custom of the Germans delighted him
most.

 Another interesting German custom observed by
Rizal is self-introduction to strangers in a social
gathering.
 In Germany, when a man attends a social function
and finds that there is nobody to introduce him to
the other guests, he bows his head to the guests,
introduces himself and shakes the hands of everyone
in the room.
 According to the German code of etiquette, it is bad
manners for a guest to remain aloof (indifferent), and
wait for his host or hostess to make the proper
introduction.
 Rizal's Darkest Winter

Rizal spent winters in many temperate
countries. The winter of 1886 in Berlin was
his darkest winter.
During this bleak winter, he lived in
poverty because no money arrived from
Calamba and he was flat broke (ruined).
The diamond ring which his sister,
Saturnina, gave him was in the pawnshop.
 Rizal's Darkest Winter

He could not pay his landlord.
He had to scrimp (save/economize), eating
only one meal a day. And that daily meal
consisted of bread and water or some cheap
vegetable soup.
His clothes were old and threadbare
(tattered). he washed them himself because
he could not afford to pay the laundry.
 Rizal's Darkest Winter

Out in far-away Calamba, Paciano tried
desperately to raise money. He knew his
younger brother was in a dire financial
situation in Berlin. But the crops had failed
due to the ravages (damages) of the locusts.
The sugar market collapsed. Time was of the
essence, but poor Paciano was delayed in
raising the necessary funds.
 Rizal's Darkest Winter

Meanwhile, Rizal starved in Berlin and
shivered with wintry cold. His health broke
down due to lack of proper nourishment.
He began to cough, and he feared that he was
going to be sick with tuberculosis. Never had
he suffered such physical blows of penury
(poverty), so that his soul cried out in
despair.
 Chapter
 8

Noli Me Tangere
Published in Berlin
(1887)
The bleak winter of 1886 was memorable in the
life of Rizal for two reasons:
1. It was a painful episode for he was hungry,

seek, and despondent in a strange city
2. It brought him great joy, after injuring so
much sufferings, because his first novel Noli Me
Tangere came off the press in March 1887.
Dr. Maximo Viola, his friend from Bulacan,
arrived in Berlin at the height of his
despondency and loaned him the needed funds
to publish the novel.
 Idea of Writing a Novel on
Philippines
His reading of Harriet 
Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s
Cabin, which portrays the brutalities of American
slave-owners and the pathetic conditions of the
unfortunate Negro slaves, inspired Dr. Rizal to
prepare a novel that would depict the miseries of
his people under the lash of Spanish tyrants. He
was then a student in the Central University of
Madrid.
 Idea of Writing a Novel on
Philippines
 in the Paterno residence in
 In a reunion of the Filipinos
Madrid on January 2, 1884, Rizal proposed the writing of
the novel about the Philippines by a group of Filipinos.
 Unfortunately, Rizal’s project did not materialize. Those
compatriots who were expected to collaborate on the
novel did not write anything.
 He was more disgusted to see that his companions,
instead of working seriously on the novel, wasted their
time gambling or flirting with Spanish señoritas.
 Undaunted by his friends indifference, he determined to
write the novel---alone.
 The Writing of the Noli
Rizal began writing the
Toward the end of 1884,
novel in Madrid an finished about one half of it.
When he went to Paris, in 1885, after completing
his studies in the Central University of Madrid,
he continued writing the novel, finishing one half
of the second half. He finished the last fourth of
the novel in Germany.
He wrote the last few chapters of the Noli in
Wilhelmsfeld in April-June, 1886.
 The Writing of the Noli
made the final revisions 
 In Berlin during the Winter days of February 1886. Rizal
on the manuscript of the Noli.
 Sick and penniless, he saw no hope of having it
published, so that in a momentary fit of desperation, he
almost hurled it into the flames.
 Years later he told his good friend and former
classmate, Fernando Canon: ″I did not believe that the
Noli Me Tangere would ever be published when I was in
Berlin, broken hearted, weakened, and discouraged
from hunger and deprivation. I was on the point of
throwing my work into the fire as a thing accursed and
fit only to die.″
 Viola, Savior of the Noli

In the midst of his despondency and misery,
Rizal receive a telegram from Dr. Maximo
Viola who was coming to Berlin.
This friend of Rizal was a scion of a rich
family of San Miguel, Bulacan.
When he arrived in Berlin shortly before
Christmas Day of 1887, he was shocked to
find Rizal living in poverty and deplorably
sickly due to lack of proper nourishment.
 Viola, Savior of the Noli
 Upon seeing his talented friends predicament,

Viola, being loaded with ample funds, gladly
agreed to finance the printing cost of the Noli.
 He also loaned Rizal some cash money for living
expenses.
 Thus it came to pass that Rizal and Viola happily
celebrated the Christmas of 1886 in Berlin with a
sumptuous (luxurious) feast. After the Christmas
season, Rizal put the finishing touches on his
novel.
 To save printing expenses, he deleted certain
passages in his manuscript, including a whole
chapter --- “Elias and Salome.”
Viola, Savior of the Noli

February 21,1887, the Noli was finally
finished and ready for printing.
With Viola, the saviour of the Noli, Rizal went
to different printing shops in Berlin to survey
the cost of printing.
After a few days of inquiries, they finally
found a printing shop---Berliner
Buchdruckrei-Action-Gesselschaft---which
charged the lowest rate, that is, 300 pesos for
2,000 copies of the novel.
Rizal Suspected as Frenchy Spy

 During the printing of the Noli, a rare incident
happened to Rizal.One morning the chief of police
Berlin paid a sudden visit to Rizal’s boarding house
and requested to see the latter’s passport.
Unfortunately, Rizal could not produce a passport,
for he had none-in those days it was possible to
travel without a passport. The police chief then told
him to secure a passport within four days, otherwise
he would be deported.
 Rizal Suspected as Frenchy Spy

 Immediately, Rizal, accompanied by Viola went to the
Spanish embassy to seek the help of the Spanish
ambassador, the Count of Benomar, who promised to
attend to the matter. But the ambassador failed to keep
his promise, for it turned out that he had no power to
issue the required passport.
 At the expiration of the four-day ultimatum, Rizal
presented himself at the office of the German police chief,
apologizing for his failure to obtain a passport and
politely asked the latter why he was to be deported when
he had not committed any crime.
 Rizal Suspected as Frenchy Spy

The police chief informed him that he had
received intelligence reports that he had
made frequent visits to the villages and little
towns in the rural areas, thereby arousing the
German government’s suspicion that he was
a French spy, inasmuch as he entered
Germany from Paris, where he resided for
some years and was apparently a lover of
France, whose language and culture he knew
so much.
 Rizal Suspected as Frenchy Spy

 Rizal explained to the police chief he was not a
French spy, but was a Filipino physician and
scientist, particularly an ethnologist. As an
ethnologist, he visited the rural areas of the countries
he visited to observe the customs and life-styles of
their simple inhabitants. Favorably impressed with
Rizal’s explanation and fascinated by his mastery of
the German language and personal charisma, the
police chief was satisfied and allowed him to stay
freely in Germany.
 Printing of the Noli Finished

 After the incident of his aborted deportation as a
suspected French spy, Rizal, with the help of Viola,
supervised the printing of the Noli. Day by day, they
were at the printing shop proof-reading the printed
pages.
 On march 21, 1887, the Noli Me Tangere came off the
press. Rizal immediately sent the first copies of the
printed novel to his intimate friends, including
Blumentritt, Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor, G. Lopez
Jaena, Mariano Ponce, and Felix R. Hidalgo.
 Printing of the Noli Finished

On March 29, 1887, Rizal, in token of his
appreciation and gratitude, gave Viola the
gallery proofs of the Noli carefully rolled
around the pen that he used in writing it and
complimentary copy, with the following
inscription: “To my dear friend, Maximo
Viola, the fist to read and appreciate my
work- Jose Rizal.”
 The Title of the Novel

The title Noli Me Tangere is a Latin phrase
which means “Touch Me Not”. It is originally
conceived by Rizal, for he admitted taking it
from the Bible.
Rizal, writing to Felix R. Hidalgo in French
on March 5, 1887, said: “Noli Me Tangere,
words taken from the Gospel of Saint Luke,
signify “do not toch me”
The Author’s Dedication

Rizal dedicated his Noli Me Tangere to
the Philippines- “To My Fatherland.”
 Synopsis of the “Noli”

 The novel Noli Me Tangere contains 63 chapters and an
epilogue. It begins with a reception given by Capitan
Tiago (Santiago de los Santos) at his house in Calle
Anloague (now Juan Luna Street) on the last day of
October. This reception or dinner was given in honor
of Crisostomo Ibarra, a young and rich Filipino who
had just returned after seven years of study in Europe.
Ibarra was the only son of Don Rafael Ibarra, friend of
Capitan Tiago, and a fiancé of beautiful Maria Clara,
supposed daughter of Capitan Tiago.