The Town Schools in the Philippines by Rizal, Jose Summary: This essay by Jos Rizal details the poor

condition and general uselessness of the Spanish educational system when applied in rural Philippine towns. Aside from highlighting the common problems of the system, Rizal also suggests reforms in order to make education both more meaningful and more appealing for the indios. NOTE: This document is part of Miscellanous Writings of Dr. Jose Rizal which was published by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 1992. In this essay which is original in Spanish is titled La instruccin, the national hero Rizal evaluates the elementary instruction given in the town schools established under the provisions of the Educational Decrees of 1863 and offers proposals for its improvement. He signs it with one of his pseudonyms Laong Laan. The Religiosity of the Filipino People by Rizal, Jose Summary: A fragmented essay written by Jos Rizal which deals with the nature, degree and circumstances of the Filipino's Catholicism. Idea of Divinity, The Virgin and the Saints, Immortality of the Soul, Idea of Future Life, Virtue and Sin, PRAYERS, Promises and Offerings, Pilgrimages NOTE: This document is part of Miscellanous Writings of Dr. Jose Rizal which was published by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 1992. The Indolence of the Filipino by Rizal, Jose SUMMARY: Rizal admits that indolence does exist among the Filipinos, but it cannot be attributed to the troubles and backwardness of the country; rather it is the effect of the backwardness and troubles experienced by the country. Past writings on indolence revolve only on either denying or affirming, and never studying its causes in depth. One must study the causes of indolence, Rizal says, before curing it. He therefore enumerates the causes of indolence and elaborates on the circumstances that have led to it. The hot climate, he points out, is a reasonable predisposition for indolence. Filipinos cannot be compared to Europeans, who live in cold countries and who must exert much more effort at work. An hour's work under the Philippine sun, he says, is equivalent to a day's work in temperate regions. La Indolencia de los Filipinos, more popularly known in its English version, "The Indolence of the Filipinos," is a exploratory essay written by Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, to explain the alleged idleness of his people during the Spanish colonization. SUMMARY The Indolence of the Filipinos is a study of the causes why the people did not, as was said, work hard during the Spanish regime. Rizal pointed out that long before the coming of the Spaniards, the Filipinos were industrious and hardworking. The Spanish reign brought about a decline in economic activities because of certain causes: First, the establishment of the Galleon Trade cut off all previous associations of thePhilippines with other countries in Asia and the Middle East. As a result, business was only conducted with Spain through

Mexico. Because of this, the small businesses and handicraft industries that flourished during the pre-Spanish period gradually disappeared. Second, Spain also extinguished the natives love of work because of the implementation of forced labor. Because of the wars between Spain and other countries in Europe as well as the Muslims in Mindanao, the Filipinos were compelled to work in shipyards, roads, and other public works, abandoning agriculture, industry, and commerce. Third, Spain did not protect the people against foreign invaders and pirates. With no arms to defend themselves, the natives were killed, their houses burned, and their lands destroyed. As a result of this, the Filipinos were forced to become nomads, lost interest in cultivating their lands or in rebuilding the industries that were shut down, and simply became submissive to the mercy of God. Fourth, there was a crooked system of education, if it was to be considered aneducation. What was being taught in the schools were repetitive prayers and other things that could not be used by the students to lead the country to progress. There were no courses in Agriculture, Industry, etc., which were badly needed by the Philippines during those times. Fifth, the Spanish rulers were a bad example to despise manual labor. The officials reported to work at noon and left early, all the while doing nothing in line with their duties. The women were seen constantly followed by servants who dressed them and fanned them personal things which they ought to have done for themselves. Sixth, gambling was established and widely propagated during those times. Almost everyday there were cockfights, and during feast days, the government officials and friars were the first to engange in all sorts of bets and gambles. Seventh, there was a crooked system of religion. The friars taught the nave Filipinos that it was easier for a poor man to enter heaven, and so they preferred not to work and remain poor so that they could easily enter heaven after they died. Lastly, the taxes were extremely high, so much so that a huge portion of what they earned went to the government or to the friars. When the object of their labor was removed and they were exploited, they were reduced to inaction. Rizal admitted that the Filipinos did not work so hard because they were wise enough to adjust themselves to the warm, tropical climate. An hours work under that burning sun, in the midst of pernicious influences springing from nature in activity, is equal to a days labor in a temperate climate. The Philippines a Century Hence: Summary and Analysis The Philippines a Century Hence is an essay written by Philippine national hero Jose Rizal to forecast the future of the country within a hundred years. Rizal felt that it was time to remind Spain that the circumstances that ushered in the French Revolution could have a telling effect for her in the Philippines. This essay, published in La Solidaridad starts by analyzing the various causes of the miseries suffered by the Filipino people: 1. Spains implementation of her military policies because of such laws, the Philippine population decreased dramatically. Poverty became more rampant than ever, and farmlands were left to

wither. The family as a unit of society was neglected, and overall, every aspect of the life of the Filipino was retarded. 2. Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino indigenous culture when Spain came with the sword and the cross, it began the gradual destruction of the native Philippine culture. Because of this, the Filipinos started losing confidence in their past and their heritage, became doubtful of their present lifestyle, and eventually lost hope in the future and the preservation of their race. 3. Passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish colonizers one of the most powerful forces that influenced a culture of silence among the natives were the Spanish friars. Because of the use of force, the Filipinos learned to submit themselves to the will of the foreigners. The question then arises as to what had awakened the hearts and opened the minds of the Filipino people with regards to their plight. Eventually, the natives realized that such oppression in their society by foreign colonizers must no longer be tolerated. One question Rizal raises in this essay is whether or not Spain can indeed prevent the progress of the Philippines: 1. Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant had failed. National consciousness had still awakened, and great Filipino minds still emerged from the rubble. 2. Keeping he people impoverished also came to no avail. On the contrary, living a life of eternal destitution had allowed the Filipinos to act on the desire for a change in their way of life. They began to explore other horizons through which they could move towards progress. 3. Exterminating the people as an alternative to hindering progress did not work either. The Filipino race was able to survive amidst wars and famine, and became even more numerous after such catastrophes. To wipe out the nation altogether would require the sacrifice of thousands of Spanish soldiers, and this is something Spain would not allow. Spain, therefore, had no means to stop the progress of the country. What she needs to do is to change her colonial policies so that they are in keeping with the needs of the Philippine society and to the rising nationalism of the people. What Rizal had envisioned in his essay came true. In 1898, the Americans wrestled with Spain to win the Philippines, and eventually took over the country. Theirs was a reign of democracy and liberty. Five decades after Rizals death, the Philippines gained her long-awaited independence. This was in fulfillment of what he had written in his essay: History does not record in its annals any lasting domination by one people over another, of different races, of diverse usages and customs, of opposite and divergent ideas. One of the two had to yield and succumb. Two Eastern Fables by Rizal, Jose In this essay, Jos Rizal compares the Filipino fable Tale of the Tortoise and the Monkey to the Japanese fable Saru Kani Kassen, or the Battle of the Monkey and the Crab. Citing many similarities in form and content, Rizal surmises that these two fables may have had the same roots in Malay folklore.

In both versions there is a great deal of morality: it is the eternal fight between the weak and the powerful. In the Philippine version we find more philosophy, more plainness of form, while in the Japanese there is more civilization, and so to speak, more diplomatic usage. http://www.filipiniana.net/publication/two-eastern-fables/12791881739209/1/0 The Japanese fable, Saru Kani Kassen, or, Battle of the Monkey and the Crab, as published by Kobunsha at Tokyo, is as follows: "A monkey and a crab once met when going round a mountain. The monkey had picked up a persimmon-seed, and the crab had a piece of toasted rice-cake. The monkey seeing this, and wishing to get something that could be turned to good account at once, said: 'Pray, exchange that rice-cake for this persimmon-seed.' The crab, without a word, gave up his cake, and took the persimmon-seed and planted it. At once it sprung up, and soon became a tree so high, one had to look up at it. The tree was full of persimmons, but the crab had no means of climbing the tree. So he asked the monkey to climb up and get the persimmons for him. The monkey got up on a limb of the tree and began to eat the persimmons. The unripe persimmons he threw at the crab, but all the ripe and good ones he put in his pouch. The crab under the tree thus got his shell badly bruised, and only by good luck escaped into his hole, where he lay distressed with pain and not able to get up. Now, when the relatives and household of the crab heard how matters stood, they were surprised and angry, and declared war and attacked the monkey, who, leading forth a numerous following, bid defiance to the other party. The crabs, finding themselves unable to meet and cope with this force, became still more exasperated and enraged, and retreated into their hole, and held a council of war. Then came a rice mortar, a pounder, a bee, and an egg, and together they devised a deep-laid plot for revenge. First, they requested that peace be made with the crabs, and thus they induced the king of the monkeys to enter their hole unattended, and seated him on the earth. The monkey not suspecting any plot, took the hibashi, or poker, to stir up the slumbering fire, when bang! went the egg, which was lying hidden in the ashes, and burned the monkey's arm. Surprised and alarmed, he plunged his arm into the pickle-tub in the kitchen to relieve the pain of the burn. Then the bee, which was hidden near the tub, stung him sharply in the face, already wet with tears. Without waiting to brush off the bee, and howling bitterly, he rushed for the back door; but just then some seaweed entangled his legs and made him slip. Then down came the pounder tumbling on him from a shelf, and the mortar, too, came rolling down on him from the roof of the porch, and broke his back and weakened him that he was unable to rise up. Then out came the crabs in a crowd and brandishing on high their pincers, pinched the monkey to pieces." There is no doubt that these two tales, although their ends are very different, have both only one origin, or perhaps one is a modification of the other. There the monkey plays the same partgreedy, malicious, wicked, and revengeful; the Japanese persimmon-tree is the Philippine banana, which grows and brings forth fruit quicker than any other tree. There are many points of resemblance between the crab and the tortoise, and there is a mortar mentioned too. Which of both tales is the more ancient? Which is the more original, and where they come from?