Scholastic Triumph at Ateneo de Manila (1872-1877)

Background and Enrollment at Ateneo Municipal

• Jose Rizal was sent to Manila just four months after the martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za and while his mother, Doa Teodora, was still in prison.

• He had not yet celebrated his $11^{th}$ birthday when he began his studies in the city.

• He attended the Ateneo Municipal, an institution supervised by Spanish Jesuits. This college was a major rival to the Dominican-owned College of San Juan de Letran.

• Ateneo was originally established in $1817$ as the Escuela Pia, a charity school for underprivileged boys. It was later handed over to the Jesuits upon their return to the Philippines in $1859$.

• The Jesuits earned a reputation as splendid educators, elevating Ateneo to prestige as an excellent college for boys.

• On $June\,10,\,1872$, Rizal went to Manila accompanied by his brother Paciano.

• He successfully passed the entrance examinations at the College of San Juan de Letran, which covered Christian doctrine, arithmetic, and reading.

• Although his father initially wanted him to study at Letran, he eventually decided to enroll him at Ateneo instead.

• Rizal faced initial rejection from Father Magin Ferrando, the college registrar, for two specific reasons: he was late for registration and he appeared too sickly and undersized for his age.

• He was reluctantly admitted only after the intercession of Manuel Xerez Burgos, who was the nephew of Father Burgos.

• Jose was the first member of his family to use the surname "Rizal." He adopted it because the original family name, "Mercado," had come under suspicion by the Spanish authorities.

The Jesuit System of Education and the Empire Competition

• The Jesuit education system was characterized by rigid discipline and religious instruction, which they believed was more advanced than other contemporary colleges.

• The curriculum focused on training character, promoting physical culture, humanities, and scientific studies.

• Daily routines required students to hear Mass in the morning before classes, and every class session opened and closed with prayers.

• Students were organized into two competing groups: the "Roman Empire" (consisting of internos or boarders) and the "Carthaginian Empire" (consisting of externos or non-boarders).

• Each empire had a hierarchy of ranks that students could earn through academic performance:

  • Emperor

  • Tribune

  • Decurion

  • Centurion

  • Standard-bearer

• Students could challenge officers to answer questions based on the day's lesson. If an officer made $3$ mistakes, they would lose their position.

• The empires used distinctive banners: red for the Romans and blue for the Carthaginians.

• Losing banners were progressively humiliated; upon the $6^{th}$ consecutive defeat, the losing banner was replaced with a figure of a donkey.

Chronological Academic Progress (1872–1877)

• First Year ($1872$\u2013$1873$):

  • Rizal's first professor was Father Jose Bech, a tall, thin man with an ascetic, severe, and inspired face, deep-sunken eyes, a sharp Greek-like nose, and thin arc-shaped lips.

  • As a newcomer with limited Spanish proficiency, Rizal started at the bottom of the Carthaginian Empire as an externo.

  • Within one week, he progressed rapidly, and by the end of the month, he became the "emperor" of his class.

  • His first prize was a religious picture.

  • To improve his language skills, he spent $3$ pesos to take private Spanish lessons at Santa Isabel College during his noon recesses.

  • In the second half of the year, he placed second because he did not strive hard enough to maintain supremacy, having been resentful of certain remarks from his professor. However, all his grades remained "Excellent."

• Second Year ($1873$\u2013$1874$):

  • After a summer in Calamba, he returned to Ateneo and repented for his previous neglect.

  • He regained the rank of "emperor" and received excellent grades in all subjects along with a gold medal.

• Third Year ($1874$\u2013$1875$):

  • He maintained excellent grades but won only one medal, which was in Latin.

  • He failed to win the Spanish medal because his spoken Spanish lacked a fluently sonorous quality, allowing a Spaniard to beat him.

• Fourth Year ($1875$\u2013$1876$):

  • He became an interno.

  • He was inspired by Father Francisco de Paula Sanchez, whom he considered his best professor and a "model of uprightness, earnestness, and love for the advancement of his pupils."

  • Under Father Sanchez's guidance, Rizal won $5$ medals.

• Final Year ($1876$\u2013$1877$):

  • He was recognized as the most brilliant Atenean of his era and the "pride of the Jesuits."

  • He achieved the highest grades in philosophy, physics, biology, chemistry, languages, and mineralogy.

  • He graduated at the head of his class with highest honors, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree on $March\,23,\,1877$, at the age of $16$.

Summer Vacations and Family Influence

• During the $1873$ summer vacation, Rizal's visit to Calamba was dampened by his mother's imprisonment in Santa Cruz.

• He visited her in jail without his father's knowledge to share news of his academic success.

• During a later visit in $1874$, his mother shared a dream she had. Rizal interpreted this dream as a sign she would be released in $3$ months.

• This prediction came true exactly $3$ months later, leading Doa Teodora to liken him to the biblical Joseph.

Intellectual Growth through External Reading

• In the summer of $1874$, Rizal developed a deep interest in romantic novels.

• His first favorite was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, being moved by Edmond Dantes’ suffering, his escape from Chateau d'If, and his revenge.

• He convinced his father to purchase a costly set of Cesar Cantu’s Universal History, which he credited with helping him win academic prizes.

• He read Travels in the Philippines by the German scientist-traveler Dr. Feodor Jagor. He was particularly impressed by Jagor’s observations of Spanish colonial defects and the prophecy that Spain would eventually lose the Philippines to America.

Extra-Curricular Brilliance and Character Development

• Rizal participated in several exclusive societies for gifted students:

  • The Marian Congregation (where he served as secretary).

  • The Academy of Spanish Literature.

  • The Academy of Natural Sciences.

• He studied painting under Agustin Saez and sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus.

• To strengthen his weak physical frame, he practiced gymnastics and fencing.

• Artistic Works: He used a pocket-knife to carve an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus out of batikuling wood. This carving was intended for Father Lleonart to take to Spain, but it was forgotten and remained on a dormitory door for years, eventually appearing during Rizal's final hours at Fort Santiago.

• Moral Character:

  • On one occasion, a book thrown during a classmate's quarrel hit Rizal in the face, causing bleeding. He showed no bitterness or rancor toward the person responsible.

  • He demonstrated courage by climbing the high cathedral belfry tower to recover a kite belonging to a younger boy named Julio Meliza.

Literary Works and Poetry at Ateneo

• His mother first recognized his poetic talent, while Father Sanchez encouraged him to refine his craft through world literature.

• His first poem, Mi Primera Inspiracin, was written before he was $14$ and dedicated to his mother on her birthday following her release from prison.

• Poems from $1875$:

  • Felicitacion

  • El Embarque: Himno a la Flota de Magallanes

  • Y Es Espaol: Elcano, el Primero en dar la Vuelta al Mundo

  • El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror de Jolo

• Poems from $1876$:

  • Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo (a tender homage to his hometown, Calamba)

  • Alianza Intima Entre la Religion y la Buena Educacin

  • Por la Educacin Recibe Lustre la Patria

  • Various martial poems detailing Spanish victories over Moorish sultans.

• Poems from $1877$:

  • El Heroismo de Colon

  • Colon y Juan II

  • Gran Consuelo en la Mayor Desdicha

  • Un Dialogo Alusivo a la Despedida de los Colegiales (his farewell to his classmates).

The Initial Experience of Romance

• Shortly after his graduation, Rizal met Segunda Katigbak, a $14$-year-old from Lipa, Batangas.

• He described her as having eloquent and ardent eyes, rosy cheeks, and a provocative smile.

• They met at his grandmother’s house in Trozo, Manila, where he drew her portrait.

• Though it was love at first sight, the relationship was considered hopeless as Segunda was already engaged to Manuel Luz.

• Their final conversation took place on a Thursday in $December\,1877$. Although Segunda waited for him to express his feelings, Rizal only managed to say a brief goodbye, noting he would see her as she passed through Calamba.

• The following day, he watched from his white horse as her carriage drove away, describing her departure like a "swift shadow."