CHAPTER IV:

Scholastic Triumphs in Ateneo de Manila

(1872-1877)
 4 months after the execution of Gom-
Bur-Za and with Doña Teodora still in
prison
 Jose was sent to Manila
 He studied in the Ateneo Municipal
under the supervision of the Spanish
Jesuits
 Bitter Rival of the Dominican-owned
College of San Juan de Letran

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 Formerly Escuela Pia (Charity School)
 Established by City Government in
1817 for poor boys in Manila
 1768 Jesuits expelled from
Philippines
 Returned to Manila in 1859
 Later, became Ateneo de Manila

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Rizal’s Enters Ateneo

 June 10, 1872 – Entrance Exam

 Father Magin Ferrando, College Registrar
 Manuel Xerez Burgos, (nephew of Father Burgos)
 He use “Rizal” as his surname instead of Mercado
 Boarded in a house outside Intramuros, on
Caraballo Street (25mins. away from college)
 Titay (a spinter) owned the boarding house, and
owed the Rizal’s family the amount of P300

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Jesuit System of Education

 Promoters physical culture, humanities, and scientific studies

 Vocational courses on agriculture, commerce, mechanics and surveying
 Religiously operate the school
- mass every morning
- classes/subjects are open & close with prayer
 Students were divided into two:
- Roman Empire / Internos (boarders)
- Carthaginian Empire / Externos (non-boarders)

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Each empires had its Ranks:

 Best Student – Emperor

 2nd Best – Tribune;
 3rd Best – Decurion;
 4th Best – Centurion;
 5th Best – Standard Bearer;
 Student could challenge any officer in his ‘empire’
to answer questions on the day’s lesson
 Failure to answer correctly (3) times, an officer
could lose his position
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Both banners were used equally in the
classroom:
1st defeat – left side of the room
2nd – inferior position on the right side
3rd – inclined flag was placed on the left
4th – flag was reversed and returned to the right
5th – reversed flag was placed on the left
6th – banner was changed with a figure of a
donkey

 Uniform – “hemp-fabric trousers” and “stripped

cotton coat”
 Coat material was called “rayadillo” – famous
uniform

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Rizal’s First Year in
Ateneo
(1872-1873)
 June, 1872, first day of class in Ateneo
 Fr. Jose Bech, first professor of Rizal
 He was an externo and was assigned to
Carthaginians
 At the end of the month he became “emperor”
 He was the brightest pupil in the whole class
 He took private lessons in Santa Isabel College
and paid three pesos for extra Spanish lessons
 He placed seconds at the end of the year
although his grades were marked “Excellent”

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Summer Vacation (1873)

 March 1873, Rizal returned to Calamba for summer vacation

 His sister Neneng (Saturnina) brought him to Tanawan to cheer him
up
 Visited his mother in prison at Santa Cruz without telling his father
 After vacation, he returned to Manila for his 2nd year term in
Ateneo
 He boarded inside Intramuros at No.6 Magallanes Street
 Dona Pepay was his landlady, an old widow with a widowed
daughter and 4 sons
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Rizal’s Second Year in
Ateneo
(1873-1874)
 He repented having neglected his studies the previous year
because he was offended by the teacher’s remarks
 Rizal studied harder, and once more he became an ‘emperor’
after losing his class leadership
 He had 3 classmates from Biñan who had also been his
classmates in the school of Maestro Justinlano
 At the end of the school year, he received excellent grades in
all subjects and a gold medal

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Teenage Interest in Reading

 During the summer vacation in Calamba (1874)

 1st favorite of Rizal `The count of Monte Cristo’’ by Alexander
Dumas
 A voracious reader
 Cesar Cantur’s historical work entitled “Universal History”
 “Travels in the Philippines” by Dr. Feodor Jagor, a German
scientist-traveler (1859-1860)

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Rizal’s Third Year in
Ateneo
(1874-1875)
 Shortly after the opening of classes, his mother was released
from prison.
 In the previous years, Rizal did not make an excellent
showing in his studies
 He failed to win the medal in Spanish because his spoken was
not fluently sonorous
 March 1875 Rizal returned to Calamba for summer vacation

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Rizal’s Fourth Year in
Ateneo
(1875-1876)
 June 16, 1875
 He became an Interno in Ateneo
 Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez inspired him to study harder
and write poetry
“model of uprightness, earnestness and love for the
advancement of his pupils”
 Rizal won five medals

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Last year in Ateneo (1876-1877)

 June 1876, last year of Rizal in Ateneo

 He was truly “The Pride of the Jesuits”
 Obtained highest grades in all subjects
Graduation with highest honors
 Excellent scholastic records from 1872-1877
 March 23 1877, Commencement Day
 Received the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Highest honors

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Extra-Curricular Activities in Ateneo

 An “Emperor” inside the classroom and campus leader

outside
 Secretary of the religious society, the Marian Congregation
 Member of Academy of Spanish Literature and the Academy
of Natural Sciences
 Studied painting under the famous spanish painter Agustine
Saez (left photo)
 Sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus (right photo), noted
Filipino sculptor

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 Sculptural Works in Ateneo

 Carved an image of the Virgin Mary on a piece

of “batikuling” (Philippine hardwood)
 Father Lleonart requested him to carve an
image of the sacred heart of Jesus
 The old Jesuit forgot to take the image with him
to Spain
 Ateneo boarding students placed the image on
the door of the dormitory and remain there for
many years

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 Anecdotes of Rizal

▪ Felix M. Ramos – one of Rizal’s contemporaries in Ateneo

▪ Manuel Xerex Burgos – whose house Rizal boarded shortly
before he became an Interno in Ateneo

Poems written in Ateneo

▪ Mi Primera Inspiration (My First Inspiration) - the first poem
Rizal probably wrote during his days in Ateneo.

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In 1875, inspired by his Father Sanchez, he wrote more
poems, such as:

 Felicitatión (Felicitation)
 El Embarque: Himno a la Flota de Magallanes (The Departure:
Hymn to Magellan’s Fleet)
 Y Es Español: Elcano, el Primero en dar la Vuelta el Mundo (And
He is Spanish; the First to Circumnavigate the World)
 El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror de Jolo (The Battle: Urbiztondo,
Terror of Jolo).

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In 1876, Rizal wrote poems on various topics:
 La Tragedic de San Eustaquio (The Tragedy of St. Eustace)
 Un Recuerdo ȧ Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)
 Alianza Intima Entre la religión y la Buena Educación (Intimate Alliance Between
Religion and Good Education)
 Por la Educación Recibe Lustre la Patria (Through Education the Country Receives
Light)
 El Cualtiverio y el Triunfo: Batalla de Lucena y Prisión de Boabdil (The Captivity
and the Triumph: Battle of Lucena and the Imprisonment of Boabdil)
 La Entrada Triunfal de los Reyes Católicos en Granada (The Triumphal Entry of
the Catholic Monarchs into Granada)

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A year later, in 1877 he wrote more poems:

 El Heroismo de Colon (The Heroism of Columbus)

 Colon y Juan II (Columbus and John II)
 Gran Consuelo en La Mayor Desdicha (Great Comfort in
Great Misfortune)
 Un Dialogo Alusivo a la Despedida de los Colegiales (A
Farewell Dialogue of the Students)

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Dramatic Work in Ateneo

 Father Sanchez, his favorite teacher ask him to write a drama

based on the prose story of St. Eustace the Martyr
 Summer 1876 in Calamba, he wrote the religious drama in
poetic verses
 June 2, 1876, finished the manuscript
 He submitted the finished manuscript entitled “San Eustacio,
Martir” (St.Eustace, The Martyr) to Father Sanchez in his last
academic year in Ateneo

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First Romance of Rizal

 16 years old, experienced his first romance

 Segunda Katigbak, a pretty 14 years old
Batangueña from Lipa
 Sister of his friend, Mariano Katigbak
 His sister Olympia was a close friend of
Segunda in La Concordia College

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First Romance of Rizal

 Segunda was already engaged to Manuel

Luz
 His first romance was ruined by his own
shyness and reserved
 Segunda returned to Lipa and later married
Manuel Luz
 Rizal remained in Calamba, a frustrated
lover, cherishing nostalgic memories of lost
love

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THANKS!
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▪ @username
▪ user@mail.me

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CREDITS

Special thanks to all the people who made and released

these awesome resources for free:
▪ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
▪ Photographs by Unsplash

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 CHAPTER IV:
Scholastic Triumphs in Ateneo de Manila
(1872-1877)