CHAPTER 6

THE SOPHIST'S WORLD:

Was Rizal a Doctor?

JOURNEY TO MADRID
 On May 3, 1882, Jose Rizal secretly left the country aboard S.S. Salvadora. Only his brother Paciano, two
sisters, and few close friends knew his secret departure.
 When he reached Barcelona, Spain he came into contact with Filipinos who were plotting revolution.
 He had a definite mind, set in favor of education and against revolution at this period and during all his
life. Barcelona left him surer than ever that, as he had written six years before education must give his
country light before he could hope for more freedom.
 November 3, 1882. From Barcelona Rizal went to Madrid and enrolled in medicine at the Universidad
Central de Madrid.
 Rizal studied painting and sculpture at the Academy of San Carlos and drawing at the Academia de
Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid.
 He studied French, German, and English.

THE DIARIONG TAGALOG

- founded on August 1, 1882
- the first Philippine bilingual newspaper.
- published nationalist and reformist articles.
- ceased publication on October 31, 1882 because of lack of funds.

 “El Amor Patrio,”

- essay written by Rizal after his arrival in Spain
- means “love of country” or patriotism.
- appeared in Manila newspaper Diariong Tagalog on August 20, 1882 under the pen name Laong-
Laan, which means “ever prepared.”
- it alerted Spanish officials to Rizal’s nationalistic tendencies.
- translated in Tagalog by Marcelo H. Del Pilar and became popular among reformers in Manila.

THE CIRCULO HISPANO-FILIPINO

 During his first year in Madrid, Rizal became part of a Filipino student organization known as Circulo
Hispano-Filipino.
 The organization met regularly to discuss political issues.
 Notable members of this organization includes: Marcelo H. del Pilar, Juan Luna, and Graciano Lopez
Jaena
 The organization was able to publish the Revista del Circulo Hispano-Filipino, a newspaper aimed at
expressing thoughts about the abusive Spanish government.
 However the publication was short-lived due to lack of funds and conflicting political issues, which led to
the dissolution of the organization.

THE BANQUET SPEECH

 In 1884 in Madrid, Juan Luna and Felix Resurrection Hidalgo won gold and silver prizes, respectively,
during the national exhibition of fine arts.
 At a victory banquet held on June 25, 1884 Jose Rizal gave a toast that made history.
 “I drink to the health of Filipino youth, the sacred hope of my motherland. That they may imitate the
precious examples of Luna and Hidalgo, who express their spirit of our social and moral; spiritual life;
mankind to hard tests, unredeemed mankind; reason and aspiration for struggles against injustices… That
Spain will implement soon the reforms. The furrow is ready and the ground is not sterile.”
 Rizal found out that his family was worried about the impact of his "toast speech". And Paciano warned
his brother.
 As a result of this controversy, Jose decided to continue his education. He had planned for some time to
study in Germany. But the family's economic condition and his own uncertainly about expenses prompted
some indecision. In a brief span of time, he would earn the name "The First Filipino" for his
pronouncements on Philippine nationalism.

THE MASONRY
 Rizal is a member of a worldwide fraternity called the “Freemasonry”.
 In 1883 – Rizal studied in Spain.
 He joined the Masonic Acacia Lodge in Madrid.
 According to Reynold Fajardo in the book “Dimasalang: The Masonic Life of Dr. Jose Rizal”, Rizal was
not only a Mason, he was the only one among the leaders of the revolutionary movement the Spanish era
who “deserved to be called an international Mason since he was a member of the various Masonic lodges
in Spain, Germany, France, and possibly England.
 When Rizal is studying in Binan and Manila, Masonry was relatively unknown in the Philippines.
 Jose Alberto – Rizal’s uncle, brother of his mother Teodora Alonso is also a Mason
 June 11, 1882 - Rizal went to Madrid and his ship docked at Naples.
 Rizal took a tour and saw numerous posters put up by Masons announcing the death of their Grand Master
Giuseppe Garibaldi.
 The Masonic Order helped Rizal’s political reputation. The Masons were known for their Liberal ideas.

THE DEGREES
 The balm of Rizal’s homesick was hard work.
 He never failed in his classes though in Madrid he carried two courses simultaneously.
 In Medicine he received Fair in two subjects, Good in four, and Excellent in two.
 In Philosophy and Letters he received Good in one, Very good in two, Excellent in four, Excellent with
prize in one (Geek and Latin Literature), and Excellent with free scholarship in two (Spanish Literature
and Arabic Language)
 In 1885 – Rizal received his Licentiate in Philosophy & Letters and Licentiate in Medicine. (One could
obtain a doctorate after passing examinations and writing an approved thesis.)
 Rizal denounced the usefulness of the doctorate degree:
“Thank God, I have already my finished my medical studies. The doctorate is not of very much
usefulness to me now, because though that is needed to become a professor, I don’t believe they will
ever appoint me as such at the College of Santo Tomas.”
 History and historians doubt whether Rizal finished his doctorate in medicine.
 Oddly enough that it would appear that, contrary to the general assumption, he never got his doctorate
in medicine, although he took and passed the course in the history of medicine, surgical analysis, and
normal histology in 1884-1885. However he never really submitted his doctoral thesis.
 He requested only of his licentiate: this was applied and paid for in his name by Julio Llorente, who for
some reason or another asked that it be sent to the Governor in manila, where it was promptly lost; so that
after a typical bureaucratic jumble, Rizal had to be content with a certified copy, which he received from
the Spanish consul general in Hong Kong in May 1892, eight years after his graduation.

OTHER WRITINGS
 He longed to go back to his mother but he must continue studying medicine until he could restore her
sight.
 He fought down his longing to return although “homesickness invaded his spirit every hour…”
 Her mother ask him to write poetry and he poured into answer all the melancholy of his aching soul. It
was titled "They ask me for verses" and was published on October 7, 1882.
 A request from Philippines for Jose to write a song to celebrate the raising of Lipa, Batangas, into a villa.
 He sent them the poem Hymn To Work.