“Hymn to Talisay”

Rizal conducted his school in a Talisay. He wrote, “Himno a Talisay”

At Dapitan, the sandy shore CHORUS:

And rocks aloft on mountain crest
Form thy throne, O refuge blest, Hail, O Talisay!
That we from childhood days have known, Firm and untiring,
In your vales that flowers adorn, Ever aspiring,
And your fruitful leafy shade, Stately thy gait,
Our thinking powers are being made, Things, everywhere
And soul with body being grown. In sea, land or air
Shalt thou dominate.
We are youth not long on earth
But our souls are free from sorrow;
Calm, strong men we'll be tomorrow,
Who can guard our families' rights.
Lads are we whom naught can frighten,
Whether thunder, waves, or rain.
Swift of arm, serene of mien
In peril, shall we wage our fights.

With our games we churn the sand,

Through the caves and crags we roam,
On the rocks we make our home,
Everywhere our arms can reach.
Neither dark nor night obscure
Cause us fear, nor fierce torment
That even Satan can invent.
Life or death? We must face each!

Talisayans, people call us;

Mighty souls in bodies small.
O'er Dapitan's district all,
No Talisay like this towers.
None can match our reservoir.
Our diving pool, the sea profound!
No rowing boat the world around
For a moment can pass ours.

We study sciences exact;

The history of our motherland:
Three languages or four command;
Bring faith and reason in accord.
Our hands can manage at one time
The sail and working spade and pen,
The mason's maul -- for virile men
Companions, and the gun and sword.

Live, live, O leafy green Talisay!

Our voices sing thy praise in chorus,
Clear star, and precious treasure for us,
Our childhood's wisdom and its balm.
In fights that wait for every man,
In sorrow and adversity,
Thy memory a charm will be,
And in the tomb, they name, they calm.
Contributions to Science

Rizal found Mindanao a rich virgin field for collecting specimens. With his baroto (sailboat) and
accompanied by his pupils, he explored the jungles and coasts, seeking specimens of insects, birds,
snakes, lizards, frogs, shells, and plants. He sent these specimens to the museum of Europe, especially
the Dresden Museum. In payment for these valuable specimens, the European scientists sent him
scientific books and surgical instruments.

During his four-year exile in Dapitan, Rizal built up a rich collection of conchology which consisted of
346 shells representing 203 species.

He discovers some rare specimens which were named in his honor by the scientists. Among these were
Draco rizali (a flying dragon), Apogonia rizali (a small beetle), Rhacophorus rizali (a rare frog).

Rizal also conducted anthropological, ethnographical, archaeological, geological studies, as revealed by

his voluminuous correspondence with his scientist friends in Europe. There was no limit to his scientific
versatility.

Linguistic Studies

A born linguist, Rizal continued his studies of languages. In Dapitan he learned the Bisayan, Subanum,
and Malay languages. He wrote a Tagalog grammar, made a comparative study of the Bisayan and
Malayan languages, and studied the Bisayan (Cebuan) and Subanum languages.

On April 5, 1896, his last year of exile in Dapitan, he wrote to Blumentritt: “I know already Bisayan and I
speak it quite well; it is necessary, however to know other dialects of the Philippines.” By this time, Rizal
could rank with the world’s great linguists. He knew 22 languages, as follows: Tagalog, Ilokano, Bisayan,
Subanun, Spanish, Latin, Greek, English, French, German, Arabic, Malay, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Dutch,
Catalan, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Portugese, Swedish, and Russian.