CHAPTER 4: SCHOLASTIC TRIUMPHS OF ATENEO DE MANILA (1872-1877)

“Hold high the brow serene, O youth, where now you JESUIT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
stand; Let the bright sheen of your grace be seen, Fair
hope of my fatherland.” Reasons why Jesuit System was more advanced than that
of other colleges:
Scholas@c Triumphs at Ateneo de Manila (1872 – 1877)
• It trained the character of students by rigid
• 4 months aLer the execu@on of GOMBURZA and discipline and religious instruc@on
with Doña Teodora s@ll in prison, Jose, was sent • It promotes physical culture, humani@es and
to Manila. He studied in the Ateneo Municipal scien@fic studies
under the supervision of the Spanish Jesuits, a • Aside from academic courses leading to AB, it
biWer rival of the Dominican-owned College of offers voca@onal course in agriculture,
San Juan de Letran commerce, mechanics and surveying.
• Ateneo Municipal – formerly known as Escuela • They were given splendid professors
Pia, a charity school of poor boys in Manila which • They acquired pres@ge as an excellent college for
was established in 1817 and later became boys.
Ateneo de Manila • The students heard Mass in the morning before
• 1768 – Jesuits were expelled from Philippines the beginning of the daily class. Classes in every
and returned to Manila on 1859. subject were opened and closed with prayers.
• Rizal took and passed the examina@on in College • Students were divided into 2 groups, namely:
of San Juan De Letran but he enrolled in Ateneo - The “Roman Empire” consis@ng of the
when he came back to Manila internos (boarders)
- The “Carthaginian Empire” composed of the
RIZAL ENTERS ATENEO externos (non-boarders)

• Father Magin Ferrando – (college registrar)- Each empires had its Ranks: Best Student – Emperor; 2nd
refused to admit Jose Rizal because: He was late Best – Tribune; 3rd Best – Decurion; 4th Best – Centurion;
for registra@on and He was sickly and undersized 5th Best – Standard Bearer;
for his age. Rizal was then 11 years old
• Manuel Xerez Burgos – nephew of Father Burgos, Student could challenge any officer in his “empire” to
He is the reason why Rizal was admiWed to the answer ques@ons on the day’s lesson. Failure to answer
Ateneo correctly (3) @mes, an officer could lose his posi@on and
• Rizal – surname used by Jose Rizal because the challenger become an emperor.
Mercado became under suspicion by the Spanish
Authori@es • Both banners were used equally in the
• Mercado – surname used by Paciano at the classroom:
College of San Jose and he was known to the
authori@es as Father Burgos’ favorite student 1st defeat – leL side of the room
and helper.
• Boarded in a house outside Intramuros, in 2nd – Inferior posi@on on the right side
Caraballo Street (25 mins. away from college)
3rd – Inclined flag was placed on the leL
• Titay – (a spinster) owned the boarding house.
She owed the Rizal family the amount of P300. 4th – Flag was reversed and returned to the right
Jose boarded with her in order to collect part of
the debt. 5th – Reversed flag was placed on the leL

6th – Banner was changed with a figure of a donkey

• The Ateneo students in Rizal’s @me wore a Second Year in Ateneo (1873 – 1874)
uniform which consisted of “hemp-fabric
trousers” and “striped coWon coat.” • He repented having neglected his studies the
• The coat material was called “Rayadillo”, which previous year because he was offended by the
later became famous for it was adopted as teacher’s remarks.
uniform for the Filipino troops during the days of • Rizal studied harder, and once more he became
the First Philippine Republic. an “emperor” aLer losing his class leadership
• He had 3 classmates from Binan who had also
RIZAL FIRST YEAR IN ATENEO (1872-1873) been his classmates in the school of Maestro
Jus@niano
• June, 1872, first day of class in Ateneo • At the end of the school year, he received
• Fr. Jose Bech, first professor of Rizal excellent grades in all subjects and a gold medal
• Rizal was an externo and was assigned to • PROPHECY OF MOTHER’S RELEASE
Carthaginians • Doña Teodora was released in the jail aLer 3
• At the end of the month he became "emperor" months like what Jose Rizal said.
• He was the brightest pupil in the whole class • St. JOSEPH – Rizal was comparable because of his
• He took private lessons in Santa Isabel College interpreta@on about his mother’s release.
and paid three pesos for extra Spanish lessons
• He placed second at the end of the year although TEENAGE INTEREST IN READING
his grades were marked "Excellent"
• During the summer vaca@on in Calamba (1874) –
SUMMER VACATION (1873) Rizal loves to read, in fact he is a voracious leader
• 2 Favorite Novels of Rizal
• March 1873, Rizal returned to Calamba for • 1st favorite novel of Rizal “The Count of Monte
summer vaca@on. Cristo” by Alexander Dumas
• His sister Neneng (Saturnina) brought him to • Cesar Cantu’s historical work en@tled “Universal
Tanawan to cheer him up History”
• He visited his mother in prison at Santa Cruz • “Travels in the Philippines” by Dr. Feodor Jagor, a
without telling his father German scien@st-traveler (1859 – 1860) – Rizal
• ALer vaca@on, he returned to Manila for his 2nd wished to buy this book
year term in Ateneo
• He boarded inside Intramuros at No. 6 3rd Year in Ateneo (1874 – 1875)
Magallanes Street
• DOÑA Pepay was his landlady, an old widow with • Shortly aLer the opening of classes, his mother
a widowed daughter and 4 sons. was released from prison.
• In the previous years, Rizal did not make an
excellent showing in his studies
• He failed to win the medal in Spanish because his
spoken was not fluently sonorous
• He only got 1 medal in his La@n subject
• March, 1875 Rizal returned to Calamba for
summer vaca@on
CHAPTER 4: SCHOLASTIC TRIUMPHS OF ATENEO DE MANILA (1872-1877)

4th Year in Ateneo (1875 – 1876) EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES IN ATENEO

• June 14, 1875 He became an internee in Ateneo • An “emperor” inside the classroom and campus
• Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez – a great educator leader outside
and scholar • Secretary of Marian Congrega@on
• He inspired young Rizal to study harder and write • Member of Academy of Spanish Literature and
poetry "model of uprightness, earnestness and the Academy of Natural Sciences
love for the advancement of his pupils" • Studied pain@ng under the famous Spanish
• Years later Rizal wrote Father Sanchez in glowing painter Agus@n Sáez
terms, showing his affec@on and gra@tude. He • Sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus, a noted
described this Jesuit professor as “a model of Filipino Sculptor
rec@tude, solicitude, and devo@on to his pupils’ • Engaged in Gymnas@cs and Fencing
progress.” • Father Jose Vilaclara advised him to stop
• Inspired by Father Sanchez, Rizal resumed his communing with the muses and pay more
studies with vigor and zest. He topped all his aWen@on to prac@cal studies such as philosophy
classmates and won 5 medals at the end of and natural science.
school term.
• He returned to Calamba for a summer vaca@on SCULPTURAL WORKS IN ATENEO
of March, 1876 and proudly offered his 5 medals
and excellent ra@ngs to his parent. He was • Rizal impressed his Jesuit professors in the
extremely happy, for he was able to repay his Ateneo with his ar@s@c skill.
“father somewhat for his sacrifices.” • He carved an image of our Virgin Mary on a piece
of ba@kuling (Philippine hardwood) with his
Last Year in Ateneo (1876 – 1877) pocket-knife. The Jesuit Fathers were amazed at
the beauty and grace of the image.
• June 1876, last year of Rizal in Ateneo • Father Lleonart requested him to carve an image
• He was truly "the pride of the Jesuits" of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
• Obtained highest grades in all subjects • The old Jesuit forgot to take the image with him
Gradua@on with Highest Honors to Spain
• "Excellent" scholas@c records from 1872 to 1877 • Ateneo boarding students placed the image on
• March 23, 1877, Commencement Day the door of the dormitory and remain there for
• Received the degree of Bachelor of Arts with many years.
highest honors from his Alma Mater, Ateneo
Municipal, at age 16 years old
• Early morning, the day of his gradua@on, 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.”
CHAPTER 4: SCHOLASTIC TRIUMPHS OF ATENEO DE MANILA (1872-1877)

Anecdote on Rizal the Atenean POEMS WRITTEN IN ATENEO

• Felix M. Roxas – one of Rizal’s contemporaries in • MI PRIMERA INSPIRACION (My first Inspira@on) –
Ateneo the first poem Rizal probably wrote during his
• He related an incident of Rizal’s school days in the days in the Ateneo, which was dedicated to his
Ateneo which reveals the hero’s resigna@on to mother on her birthday. It is said that he wrote it
pain and forgiveness. One day many Ateneans, before he was 14 years old, year 1874. Before
including Rizal, were studying their lessons at the this year he did not write poetry because there
study-hall. 2 Ateneans, Manzano and Lesaca, was gloom in his heart owing to his mother’s
quarreled and violently hurled books at each imprisonment. Upon the release of his mother in
other. Rizal, who was busy at his desk poring over 1874, his poe@c heart began to sing with ecstasy
his lessons, was hit in the face by one of the and joy.
thrown books. He did not raise a cry protest,
although his wounded face was bleeding. His In 1875, inspired by Father Sanchez, he wrote more
classmates brought him to the infirmary where poems such as:
he had to undergo medical treatment for several
days. ALer the incident, he con@nued to aWend • Filicitacion (Felicita@on)
his classes, feeling neither biWerness nor rancor • El Embarque: Himno a la Flota de Magallanes
toward the guilty party. (The Departure Hymn to Magellan’s fleet)
• Manuel Xerex Burgos – whose house Rizal • Y Es Espanol: Elcano, el Primero en dar la Vuelta
boarded shortly before he became an internee in el Mundo ( And He is Spanish: the first to
Ateneo. This anecdote illustrates Rizal’s circumnavigate the world)
predilec@on to help the helpless at the risk of his • El Combate: Urbiztondo Terror de Jolo (The
own life. One Thursday aLernoon, being vaca@on BaWle: Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo)
day, the boys flew their kites from azotea. Young
Rizal then was busy reading a Spanish book of In 1876, Rizal wrote poems on various topics:
fables at the window. ALer a while he heard Julio
Melliza from Iloilo, one of the smallest boarders, • La Tragedia de San Eustaquio ( The Tragedy of St.
crying – because his kite was caught by the vines Eustace) – this poem recounts the tragic story of
growing on the belfry of the Manila cathedral St. Eustace.
which was near the boarding-house. The bigger • Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My
boys were laughing, for he would try to retrieve Town) – A tender poem in honor of Calamba, the
the kite. True to his promise he courageously hero’s natal town.
climbed the high cathedral tower and • Alianza In@ma Entre la Religion Y La Buena
successfully recovered the kite. Educacion (In@mate Alliance Between Religion
and Good Educa@on)
• Por la Educacion Recibe Lustre La Patria (Through
Educa@on the Country Receives Light)
• El Cul@vero Y El Triunfo: Batalla de Lucena y
Prision de Boabdil (The Cap@vity and the
Triumph: BaWle of Lucena and the Imprisonment
of Boabdil) – this mar@al poem describes the
defeat and capture of Boabdil, last Moorish
Sultan of Granada
• La Entrada Triuntal de Los Reyes Catolicos en
Granada (The Triumphal Entry of The Catholic
Monarchs into Granada) – this poem relates the
victorious entry of King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabela into Granada, last Moorish stronghold in
Spain
CHAPTER 4: SCHOLASTIC TRIUMPHS OF ATENEO DE MANILA (1872-1877)

A year later, in 1877 he wrote more poems: FIRST ROMANCE OF RIZAL

• El Heroismo de Colon (The heroism of Columbus) • At 16 years old, He experienced his first romance
– this poem praises Columbus, the discoverer of • Segunda Ka@gbak, a preWy 14 years old
America Batanguena from Lipa
• Colon y Juan II (Columbus and John II) – this • Sister of his friend Mariano Ka@gbak
poem relates how King John II of Portugal missed • His sister Olimpia was a close friend of Segunda
fame and riches by his failure to finance the in La Concordia College
projected expedi@on of Columbus to the new • Segunda was already engaged to Manuel Luz
world • His first romance was ruined by his own shyness
• Gran Consuelo en la Mayor Desdicha (Great and reserve
Comfort in Great Misfortune) – this is a legend in • Segunda returned to Lipa and later married
verse of the voyage of Columbus Manuel Luz
• Un Dialogo Alusivo a la Despedida de los • Rizal remained in Calamba, a frustrated lover,
Colegiales (A Farewell Dialogue of the Students) cherishing nostalgic memories of lost love
– this was the last poem wriWen by Rizal to
Ateneo; it is poignant poem of farewell to his
classmates.

DRAMATIC WORK IN ATENEO

• Father Sanchez, his favorite teacher ask him to