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Lesson 8: Rizal, The Polymath

Rizal was a polymath who used his wide range of talents and skills to serve his country. He graduated with high honors and was a prolific writer, publishing two influential novels that depicted Philippine society and sparked revolution. Rizal also practiced medicine, conducted scientific research, taught school, and engaged in community projects while in exile. Through his writings and actions, he consistently worked to educate his fellow Filipinos and address the social issues of the time under Spanish rule.

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Gian Tolentino
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1K views

Lesson 8: Rizal, The Polymath

Rizal was a polymath who used his wide range of talents and skills to serve his country. He graduated with high honors and was a prolific writer, publishing two influential novels that depicted Philippine society and sparked revolution. Rizal also practiced medicine, conducted scientific research, taught school, and engaged in community projects while in exile. Through his writings and actions, he consistently worked to educate his fellow Filipinos and address the social issues of the time under Spanish rule.

Uploaded by

Gian Tolentino
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LESSON 8

RIZAL,
THE POLYMATH
Rizal’s Interest, Skills and
Talents

▪ Rizal studied to become a doctor specializing


in ophthalmology.
▪ Aside from being a doctor, he was also known
among his peers as prolific writer.
▪ He was also trained in the social sciences
during his time in Germany in 1889.
▪ Some scholars attribute Rizal’s versatility to
his being a genius.
▪ The term genius, however, is still a debatable
term, with others measuring it quantitatively
through the level of Intelligence Quotient or
IQ; while others measure it quantitatively
through an individual’s contributions to
society.
▪ Regardless of how we measure ingenuity, it is
clear that Rizal was a remarkable individual
based on his credentials and his contributions
to society.
▪ First, Rizal graduated with high honors when
he was studying in Ateneo.
▪ He was also a dedicated scholar who used his
spare time studying other languages and
subjects, as well as other arts, such as poetry,
sculpture, painting and martial arts
specifically fencing.
▪ It was said that Rizal was one of the best
practitioners of fencing among ilustrados
during their time in Europe.

▪ Also, while we honor Rizal as the doctor and


the writer, most of his scientific works were
done during his exile in Dapitan from
1892-1896, when he conducted numerous
scientific works that involved collecting and
sending different animal specimens to
Blumentritt.
▪ He also conducted business ventures,
improved the water system in Dapitan using
his background in land surveying, established
a school where he taught arithmetic, writing,
geography and history to young boys in
Dapitan.
▪ In his spare time, he created various art
works, and conducted various ethnographic,
linguistic, and geographical studies in
Mindanao.
▪ When he won a lottery on September 21,
1892, he used the money to buy 16 hectares
of land in Talisay, Dapitan where he also
practiced his farming skills.
▪ He did all these activities while serving also
as an ophthalmologist that eventually led to
the romance between Rizal and Josephine
Bracken, who one day brought her blind
father, Mr. George Taufer, to Rizal for a
medical consultation.
▪ 1892-1896 can be considered as one of the
golden ages of Dapitan because of the help of
Dr. Jose Rizal.
▪ He engaged in different community projects
that boosted the economy and quality of life
in the area.
▪ He also remained true to his vow to educate
the Filipinos by establishing a school in
Dapitan.
▪ Whether he was a genius or not by today’s
standards, Rizal embodied his vision of a true
scholar and citizen in the service of his
country.
▪ Rizal was a model of consistency when he
said that the ilustrados in Europe must go
back and serve in the Philippines.
▪ In fact, he himself came back in 1892 despite
the dangers he faced in the Philippines, even
when he enjoyed a relatively comfortable and
safe life as an ophthalmologist in Hong Kong
in 1891.
▪ He made sure that even in exile, he used all
his abilities and talents to serve his
countrymen.
LESSON 9

WORKS OF RIZAL
▪ In this lesson, we take a closer look at how
Rizal used his talent for writing in reaching a
great number of people. From his life as a
young student up to his final days in
Intramuros, Rizal always had his pen beside
him.
▪ A man of letters, Rizal is known best for his
writings.
▪ His novels were the reasons for sparking a
revolution.
▪ He was also a man who wrote a lot to his
friends, family, colleagues, fellow reformers,
and many more.
▪ Aside from all the prose he became known
for, he also produced fine poems expressing
the deepest desires of his hearts that no
essay, letter or novel could materialize.
TOUCH ME NOT

▪ The Noli Me Tangere, a Latin phrase for


“touch me not,” came out in 1887, published
in Berlin, Germany.
▪ It was his first attempt to talk about his
people while revealing the social ills and
complications a fellow Filipino like himself
would have to live with during the Spanish
rule.
▪ Eventually, this became a massive hit; it
became his masterpiece. With the lens of a
doctor, he tried to expose the ills of society
and looked for proper remedy.
▪ As a mere novelist and physician, he applied
his knowledge of prescription by means of
exposing the evils in society. Rizal intended to
bring enlightenment to his readers.
▪
▪ Those readers in turn became doctors
themselves to the malady as each help
knowledge vital to its cure or detriment.
The Subversion
▪ In the second novel, the El Filibusterismo, a
Spanish term for “The Subversion”, came out
in 1887, published in Ghent, Belgium.
▪ Continuing where he left off with a new cast
of characters, Rizal explored the Philippines
in a much grander scale.
▪ Both these two novels depicted the life of the
colony, detailing the various characters in
their own context while drawing inspiration
from real life contemporaries.
Mi Ultimo Adios
▪ In one of his poems, Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last
Farewell in English) he bid adieu to his beloved
country.
▪ Well hidden in the lamp given to Trinidad on the
eve of his martyrdom, Rizal spoke in English so as
to cleverly tell his dear sister as to the contents
inside.
▪ Later this letter was translated by the Supremo
Bonifacio in Tagalog as Pahimakas ni Dr. Jose
Rizal, that further sparked the cause to revolt,
stirring the emotion of the people.
▪ Regardless of a number of his influential
works, some of his writings also employed
greater skill as a scholar of various disciplines.

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