Scholastic Triumphs at

Ateneo de Manila (1872 – 1877 )

CHAPTER 4:

4 months after the execution of Gom-Bur-

Za and with Doña Teodora still in prison

Jose, was sent to Manila

He studied in the Ateneo Municipal

Under the supervision of the Spanish

Jesuits

Bitter rival of the Dominican-owned College

of San Juan de Letran

Formerly Escuela Pia (Charity School)

Established by City Government in 1817 for

poor boys in manila

1768 Jesuits expelled from Philippines

Returned to Manila in 1859

Later, became Ateneo de Manila

Rizal Enters the Ateneo

June 10, 1872 - Entrance Exam

Father Magin Ferrando, College Registrar

Manuel Xerez Burgos, (nephew of Father

Burgos)

He use “Rizal” as his surname instead of

Mercado

Boarded in a house outside Intramuros, on Caraballo Street, (25 mins. away from college)

Titay (a spinster) owned the boarding house, and owed the Rizal’s family the amount of P300

Jesuit System of Education Promotes physical culture, humanities, and

scientific studies

Vocational courses on agriculture,

commerce, mechanics and surveying

Religiously operate the school - mass every morning - classes/subjects are open & close with prayer

Students were divided into two:

Roman Empire – Internos (boarders)

Carthaginian Empire – Externos (non- boarders)

Each empires had its Ranks: Best Student – Emperor;

2nd Best – Tribune;

3rd Best – Decurion;

4th Best – Centurion;

5th Best – Standard Bearer;

Student could challenge any officer in his “empire” to answer questions on the day’s lesson

Failure to answer correctly (3) times, an officer could lose his position

Both banners were used equally in the

classroom:

1st defeat – left side of the room

2nd – Inferior position on the right side

3rd – Inclined flag was placed on the left

4th – Flag was reversed and returned to the

right

5th – Reversed flag was placed on the left

6th – Banner was changed with a figure of a

donkey

Uniform“hemp-fabric trousers” and “striped cotton

coat”

Coat material was called “rayadillo” – famous uniform

of Filipino troops during the 1st Philippine Republic

Rizal's First Year in Ateneo (1872 -

1873)

June, 1872, first day of class in Ateneo

Fr. Jose Bech, first professor of Rizal

He was an externo and was assigned to

Carthaginians

At the end of the month he became "emperor"

He was the brightness pupil in the whole class

He took private lessons in Santa Isabel College and paid three pesos for extra Spanish lessons

He placed seconds at the end of the year although his grades were marked "Excellent"

Summer Vacation (1873) March 1873, Rizal returned to Calamba for

summer vacation.

His sister Neneng (Saturnina) brought him to Tanawan to cheer him up

Visited his mother in prison at Santa Cruz without telling his father

After vacation, he returned to Manila for his 2nd year term in Ateneo

He boarded inside Intramuros at No. 6

Magallanes Street

Dona Pepay was his landlady, an old widow with a widowed daughter and 4 sons.

Second Year in Ateneo (1873

– 1874)

He repented having neglected his studies the previous year because he was offended by the teacher’s remarks.

Rizal studied harder, and once more he became an “emperor” after losing his class leadership

He had 3 classmates from Binan who had also

been his classmates in the school of Maestro

Justiniano

At the end of the school year, he received excellent grades in all subjects and a gold medal

With such honors, he triumphantly returned to Calamba in March, 1874 for the summer vacation

Teenage Interest in Reading During the summer vacation in Calamba (1874)

1st favorite novel of Rizal “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas

A voracious reader

Cesar Cantu’s historical work entitled “Universal History”

“Travels in the Philippines” by Dr. Feodor

Jagor, a German scientist-traveler (1859 – 1860)

3rd Year in Ateneo (1874 –

1875) Shortly after the opening of classes, his

mother 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

March, 1875 Rizal returned to Calamba for

summer vacation

4th Year in Ateneo (1875 –

1876)

June 16, 1875

He became an interno in Ateneo

Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez inspired

him to study harder and write poetry

"model of uprightness, earnestness and

love for the advancement of his pupils"

Rizal won five medals

Last Year in Ateneo (1876 –

1877)

June 1876, last year of Rizal in Ateneo

He was truly "the pride of the Jesuits"

Obtained highest grades in all subjects

Graduation with Highest

Honors "Excellent" scholastic records from 1872 to

1877

March 23, 1877, Commencement Day

Received the degree of Bachelor of Arts with highest honors

Extra-Curricular Activities in

Ateneo An "emperor" inside the classroom and

campus leader outside

Secretary of the Marian Congregation

Member of Academy of Spanish Literature and the Academy of Natural Sciences

Studied painting under the famous Spanish painter Agustin Saez (left photo)

Sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus (right photo), noted Filipino sculptor

Engaged in gymnastics and fencing

Father Jose Vilaclara advised him to stop communing with the muses and pay more attention to practical studies such as philosophy and natural science

Sculptural Works in Ateneo Carved an image of The Virgin Mary on a

piece of “batikuling” (Philippine hardwood)

Father Lleonart requested him to carve an

image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The old Jesuit forgot to take the image with him

to Spain

Ateneo boarding students placed the image on

the door of the dormitory and remain there for

many years

Anecdotes of Rizal Felix M. Ramos – one of Rizal’s contemporaries

in Ateneo

Manuel Xerex Burgos – whose house Rizal boarded shortly before he became an interno in Ateneo

Poems Written in Ateneo Mi Primera Inspiration (My First

Inspiration) – the

first poem Rizal probably wrote during his days in

Ateneo.

In 1875, inspired by Father Sanchez, he

wrote more poems such as:

Filicitacion (Felicitation)

El Embarque: Himno a la Flota de Magallanes

(The Departure Hymn to Magellan’s fleet)

Y Es Espanol: Elcano, the first to circumnavigate the world)

El Combate: Urbiztondo Terror de Jolo (The Battle: Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo)

In 1876, Rizal wrote poems on various

topics:

Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblu (In Memory of My

Town)

Alianza Intima Entre la Region Y La Buena Educacion (Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good Education)

Por la Educacion Recibe Lustre La Patria (Through Education the Country Receive Light)

E Cultivero Y El Triunfo (The Captivity and the Triumph: Battle of Lucena and the Imprisonment of Boabdil)

La Entrada Triuntal de Los Reyes Catolices en

Granada (The Triumphal Entry of The

Catholic Monarches into Granada)

A year later, in 1877 he wrote more

poems:

El Heroismo de Colon (The heroism of Colombus)

Colon y Juan II (Colombus and John II )

Gran Consuelo en la Mayor Desdicha (Great Solace in Great Misfortune)

Un Diarogo Alusivo a la Despedida de los Colegiales (A Farewell Dialogue of the Students)

“My First Inspiration”

Why falls so rich a spray of fragrance from the bowers of the balmy flowers upon this festive day?

Why from woods and vales do we hear sweet measures ringing that seem to be the singing of a choir of nightingales?

Why in the grass below do birds start at the wind's noises, unleashing their honeyed voicesas they hop from bough to bough?

Why should the spring that glows its crystalline murmur be tuning to the zephyr's mellow crooning as among the flowers it flows?

Why seems to me more endearing, more fair than on other days, the dawn's enchanting face among red clouds appearing? 

The reason, dear mother, is

they feast your day of bloom: the rose with its perfume, the bird with its harmonies.

And the spring that rings with laughter upon this joyful day with its murmur seems to say: "Live happily ever after!"

And from that spring in the grove now turn to hear the first note that from my lute I emote to the impulse of my love.

Dramatic Work in Ateneo Father Sanchez, his favorite teacher ask

him to write a drama based on the prose story of St. Eustace the Martyr

Summer 1876 in Calamba, he wrote the religious drama in poetic verses

June 2 1876, finished the manuscript

He submitted the finished manuscript entitled “San Eustacio, Martir” (St. Eustace, the Martyr) to Father Sanchez in his last academic year in Ateneo

First Romance of Rizal

16 years old, experienced his first romance

Segunda Katigbak, a pretty 14 years old

Batanguena from Lipa

Sister of his friend Mariano Katigbak

His sister Olimpia was a close friend of Segunda

in La Concordia College

First Romance of Rizal

Segunda was already engaged to Manuel Luz

His first romance was ruined by his own shyness and reserve

Segunda returned to Lipa and later married Manuel Luz

Rizal remained in Calamba, a frustrated lover, cherishing nostalgic memories of lost love

Scholastic Triumphs at

Ateneo de Manila (1872 – 1877 )

CHAPTER 4:

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