Can you be like Rizal?

Rizal’s Many-Sided Personality

“Rizal was the greatest product of the
Philippines and his coming to the world
was like the appearance of a rare comet,
whose rare brilliance appears only every
other century.”
-Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt

A L S
 Rizal’s Many-Sided Personality

“Rizal’s many-sidedness was stupendous.”

-Dr. Adolf B. Meyer

A L S
 Rizal’s Many-Sided Personality
“Versatile genius.”
-Dr. Camilo Osias
His precocity since early boyhood turned
into versatility in later years. Being curious
and inquisitive, he developed a rare facility
of mastering varied talents, skills, subjects
and occupations.

A L S
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Well-documented studies show that Dr.
Jose Rizal was a polymath, with the ability
to master various skills and subject.

A L S
Rizal’s Talents and Skills

A-Z
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Actor
He acted as a character in one of Juan
Luna’s paintings and acted in school
dramas.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Anthropologist
He made researches on the physical and
social make up of man.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Archeologist
Rizal studied monuments and antique
currency everywhere he went. He drew
most of the monuments he saw.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Book lover
He had a big library and
brought many books
abroad.
- A favorite pastime in
Madrid. He stayed at
home and read until midnight
This the Dao tree where Dr. Jose Rizal himself planted
and nurtured.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Botanist

Rizal maintained a garden in Dapitan where

he planted and experimented on plants of
all kinds.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Businessman

He had a partner in Dapitan in the Abaca

business there (1892-1896).

One of his profitable business venture was

the hemp industry.
Rizal engaged in business in partnership
with Ramon Carreon on May 14, 1893, a
Dapitan Merchant which has a profitable
business ventures in fishing, copra, and
hemp industries. He invited his relative
Saturnina and Hidalgo to come to
Mindanao for some business opportunities.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Cartographer

He drew maps of Dapitan, the Philippines

and other places he visited.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Chess Player

He played chess and bear several Germans

and European friends and acquaintances.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Commentator

Rizal always expresses and publishes his

personal opinion.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Dramatist

He acted in school dramas.

 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Economist

He knew how to allot his scarce resources.

 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Educator

Rizal taught in his special school in Dapitan.

 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
His exile in Dapitan gave him the opportunity to
put into practice his educational ideas. In
1893, he established a school which existed until
the end of his exile in July 1896. It began with
three pupils and in the course of time the
enrollment increased to 16 and later 21. In his
letter to Blumentritt on March 13, Rizal said that
he had 16 pupils in his school and these pupils
did not pay any tuition.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Essayist

- Reminiscence of a Student in Manila (his

first essay)
- The Philippines a Century Hence
(prophesied the downfall of Spain in Asia)
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Ethnologist

- In his travels, Rizal was able to compare

different races and he noted the
differences.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
- He became a member of Berlin
Ethnological and Anthropological Society
while under the patronage of the famous
pathologist Rudolf Virchow.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
“What moral right has the white man to
look down on the men who have similar
thoughts, studies and abilities as they
just because their skin is brown or their
nose is flat?”
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Farmer

His total land holdings reached 70 hectares

containing 6,000 hemp plants, 1,000
coconut trees, and numerous fruit trees,
sugarcane, corn, coffee and cacao.
• He devoted his time to agriculture and was
able to bought about 16 hectares of land in
Talisay. There he was able to plant cacao,
fruit trees, sugarcane, corn and coconuts.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
"We cannot all be doctors; it is
necessary that there would be some
to cultivate the soil."
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Fencer

He fenced with Europeans and

Juan Luna and other friends in
Europe.
Fencing – a sport practiced at
that time only by the Ilustrados
Inteligencia
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Freemason abroad

He was member of La Solidaridad Lodge in

Spain.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Geographer
Title: Relief map of Mindanao
Remarks: Made in Dapitan church plaza by
the end of 1892
Title: Pacific Ocean spheres of influence
Remarks: Made during the administration
of Pres. Benjamin Harrison. Mentioned by
Rizal in his Article "The Philippines a
Century Hence", made in London in 1889.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Title: Plan for modern college (front and
side views)
Remarks: Owned by Dr. L. L. R, apparently
in Paris, 1872

Title: The lake district of central Luzon

Remarks: Mentioned in "Memorias de un
Estudiante de Manila", 1872.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Title: Plan of the waterworks in Dapitan
Remarks: Made with Father Sanchez, in
Dapitan, 1895

Title: Sketch of the Lumanao Hill where

jewels were found
Remarks: Owned by Ateneo. Made in 1895
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Grammarian

- “Estudios Sobre la Tagala”

(a birthday gift for his former instructor,
Father Sanchez who visited Rizal in
Dapitan)
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Historian

His annotation of Antonio de Morga’s

Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas entitled him as
one.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Horticulturist

He experimented on and cultivated plants

in Dapitan.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Humorist

There are many humorous incidents in the

Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Ichthyologist

He collected 38 new varieties of fish in

Dapitan.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Inventor
- He invented a cigarette lighter, which he
called sulpakan, and sent it to Blumentritt
in 1887 as a gift.
- While in Dapitan, Rizal also invented a
wooden machine for making bricks which
turned out about 6,000 bricks daily.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Japanophile

His admiration of Japanese traits and his

knowledge of the Japanese language
proved he was one.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Journalist

He authored several published articles in

Spanish and English.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Judoka

Rizal was the first Filipino and Malay to

have practiced and in fact, taught martial
arts sport. Jiguro Kano taught him the “Way
of Ju” which means the truth of the
universe.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Laboratory worker

He was employed in the clinic of Dr. L.

Wecker in Paris.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Linguist
He spoke over 22 languages including:
Tagalog, Ilokano, Bisayan, Subanon,
Spanish, Latin, Greek, English, French,
German, Arabic, Malay, Hebrew,
Sanskrit, Dutch, Catalan, Italian, Chinese,
Japanese, Portuguese, Swedish, and
Russian.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Musician

He played the flute and composed pieces of

music and cultivated music appreciation.
Magician
Since early childhood Rizal had been
interested in magic. When he attained
manhood, he continued his keen predilection
for magic.
In chapter XVII and XVIII of his second
novel, El Filibusterismo, he revealed his wide
knowledge in magic.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Mythologist

Rizal used mythology in his Noli Me

Tangere and El Filibusterismo novels.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Newspaperman

He wrote and published articles in many

publications and was one of the organizers
of the La Solidaridad.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Novelist

- Noli Me Tangere
- El Filibusterismo
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Ophthalmologist

- He graduated in an ophthalmologic
college in Spain.
- His mother who lost her eyesight in 1887,
encouraged him to take advanced training
in ophthalmology.
• Rizal is famous for this profession -a
practicing ophthalmologist and that he was
able to cure his own mother’s cataract.
Rizal was known to have trained under
prominent European ophthalmologists- Otto
Becker and Louis de Wecker. He did
practice the professional backed in his
hometown in Calamba Laguna, while he
was in Hong Kong and while in exile at
Dapitan.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
- He apprenticed under Dr. Louis de
Wecker, a famous eye surgeon who can set
in position crossed eyes in two minutes.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Orientalist

Rizal admired the special characteristics

and beauties of Oriental countries peoples.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Painter

Title: Saturnina Rizal

Material: Oil
Remarks: Now in Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago
Title: Dapitan church curtains
Material: Oil
Remarks: Made in Dapitan, 1894
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Title: A painting on a pair of mother-of-
pearl
Material: Oil
Remarks: Shells painted by Rizal in Dapitan
and given as a gift to Doña Leonor
Valenzuela and later passed into the hands
of Doña Margarita Valenzuela

Title: Spanish coat of arms

Material: Water color
Remarks: Done during a fiesta of San Rafael
in Calamba in 1867
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Title: Allegory on a pair of porcelain bases
of the new year celebration
Material: Oil
Remarks: Made in Berlin in 1886

Title: Christ crucified

Material: Crayon
Remarks: 1875
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Title: Immaculate Conception
Material: Crayon
Remarks: Made in Manila, 1974

Title: Portrait of Morayta

Material: Crayon
Remarks: Made in Barcelona, 1885
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Since early childhood, Rizal revealed his
God-given talent for art. At the age of five,
he began to make sketches with his pencil
and to mold in clay and wax objects.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Philosopher

Rizal not only loved wisdom but also

regulated his life and enjoyed calmness of
the life at all time.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Physical culturist

Rizal maintained a good health by

exercising all parts of his body and eating
proper foods.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Physician

He treated several patients afflicted not

only with eye diseases.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Plant lover

As a child, Rizal spend most of his time in

the family garden which was planted with
fruit trees, shrubs and decorative trees. His
diaries contained detailed description and
sketches of plants, flowers and fruits he
saw in the places he visited.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Poet

Rizal wrote over 35 poems including his famous

Mi Ultimo Adios, To The Philippines, Our Mother
Tongue, Memories of My town, Hymn to Labor,
Kundiman, A Poem That Has No Title, Song of
Maria Clara, To the Philippines Youth, To
Josephine, Education Gives Luster to the
Motherland, To the Virgin Mary, Sa Aking mga
Kabata and others.
• The first poem rizal wrote during his days
in the ateneo was “Mi Primera Inspiracion”
• He wrote it before he was fourteen years
old, that is, in the year 1874.
• In 1875, inspired by father Sanchez, he
wrote more poems, such as:
1.Felicitacion
2.The departure: hymn to Magellan’s Fleet
3.And he is Spanish: Elcano, the first to
circumnavigate the world
4.The battle : Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
He wrote poems on flower he likes very
much as his poems To the Flowers of
Heidelberg.
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Politician

Although Rizal did not engage in politics, he

exposed the evils of the political activities
of the Spaniards in the Philippines through
his writing.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Polyglot

Rizal spoke and wrote in 20 languages.

 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Proofreader

In Germany, he worked as a part-time

proofreader of his livelihood.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Propagandist

As a reformer, Rizal encourages the

recommendation of improving the
government entities and discourages
abuses on publishing articles.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Researcher

Being a wide reader, he compared the old

and new practices in life.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Revolutionist

Rizal encouraged reforms; discouraged old,

impractical usage, and desired new and
useful laws to benefit his countrymen. He
desired changes for the better.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Rhetorician

Rizal has always practiced the art of

persuasive and impressive speaking and
writing.
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Sanitary engineer

His construction of a water system in

Dapitan exemplified this practice by Rizal.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Scientist
Rizal’s practice of many sciences here and
abroad made him noted scientist. Rizal
does loved science and discovery. He was
able to explore the rich virgin field of
Mindanao and was able to collect great
specimens of lizards, insects, bats, snakes
etc. which he was able to send in a museum
in Europe.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
“The Spanish colonial government
murdered the most prominent scientist it
ever had.”
-Prof. Rudolf Virchow
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Sculptor

His works of his father and of Father

Guerrico, S. J. typified his sculptural ability.
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Sharp shooter

He could hit a target 20 meters away.

• Rizal impressed his Jesuit professor in the
Ateneo with his artistic skill. He carved an
image of the Virgin Mary on a piece of
Batikuling(Philippine hardwood) with his
pocket knife.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Sociologist

In Rizal’s study of Philippines social

problems, he always encouraged and
introduced solutions.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Sodalist

He always joined fraternities, associations

and brotherhood, for self-improvement.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Translator

- Christmas message (Hebrew to Spanish)

- William Tell and Andersen Fairy Tales
(German to Tagalog)
- The Rights of Man (French to Tagalog)
- Zend-Avesta (Arabic to Spanish)
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Traveler

He traveled around the world three times.

 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Tuberculosis expert

For having cured himself of this disease, he

became and was recognized as an expert.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Universalist

Rizal was the product of the very first

synthesis between the civilizations of the
East and the West. In his person embodied
the ideals of the both.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Writer

- Sa Aking Mga Kababata

- To the Filipino Youth
- The untitled Last Farewell
Rizal’s Talents and Skills
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Youth leader

He considered the youth as "the hope of his

Fatherland."
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
• Zoologist

- He was fond of pets. He researched later

on their physiology, classification and
habits.
- A regular contributor of specimens of
reptiles, mammals, birds, fish, insects,
crustaceans and other invertebrates to the
Dresden museum.
 Rizal’s Talents and Skills
- When he was an exile in Dapitan, he
collected different kinds of species of
animals. Among there were the Draco
Rizali (Wandolleck), a specie of flying
dragon; Rachophorous Rizali (Boetger), a
hithertho unknown specie of toad; and
Apogonia Rizali (Heller), a small beetle,
which were later named after him.
Rizal’s Talents and Skills