THE MORAL AND

INTELLECTUAL LEGACIES
 Why we need to know Rizal’s Moral Legacies?
• The enduring greatness of Rizal lies in the richness
of his ideas and the nobility of his examples. The
validity of his progressive thoughts and soul-
searching teachings is his legacy to humanity.
• Rizal’s prophetic insights and matchless visions on
how the Filipinos can travels the road to progress
so that they can enjoy the fullness of nationhood --
-- economically, politically, educationally, socially
and culturally under the mantle of national
solidarity --- are inspiring.
 Love of God
• When he was studying in Madrid, Spain
(1882-1885), Rizal assured his mother of his
trust in God.
• When his sister Olympia died after childbirth
upon his arrival in the Philippines from Europe
in August, 1887, Rizal remarked: “I console
myself saying that it was the will of God and
what He does must be the best.”
 Purity and Idealism
•“Pure and Spotless Must the Victim
Be.” Another virtue of Rizal worth
emulating was his insistence on
purity of thoughts and clean
behavior.
• Perfection in virtue is a condition of
our union with God.
•In his famous El Filibusterismo, a
Decalogue for the Political Redemption
and Human Dignification of the Filipinos,
Father Florentino softly pressed the
challenge to perfection of character
traits on the dying Simoun who used his
ill-gotten wealth to destroy Philippine
society in working woe, distorting justice
and fomenting avarice.
 Noble Conduct
•“Do Good Always”• Purity of thoughts
and clean behavior require that
religiousness be shown in “good
conduct”, “clean conscience” and
“upright thinking”.
• Rizal exhorted mothers to awaken the
mind of the child and prepare it for every
good desirable idea.
 Love of Fellowmen
•Let Us Think Well of Our Fellowmen”.
Another great virtue of Rizal in
conformity with what God desires was
his love for his fellowmen.• Love of
neighbor to be sincere entails
involvement in his behalf.
• Rizal’s thought on love our fellowmen
are timely in these time.
• Love of Parents
• “I Beg My Beloved Parents to Always Bless Their Son”
• Rizal’s great love for his parents was very admirable.
His concern over their sacrifices and his thoughtfulness
are worth initiating.
Charity
• I Feel Happy When I Can Give Joy to Somebody”
• Charity is the greatest of all the virtues because it
inclines us to love God above all things for His own sake,
and our neighbors for the sake of God.
 Love of Country
• My Dream Was My Country’s Prosperity”
• Dedication to one’s duty was an admirable virtue of
Rizal. In saying that it is man’s duty to seek his own
perfection, Rizal set an idea for man to attain. He
elaborated on this idealism.
• Rizal dedicated his whole life in securing freedom for
his country and happiness for his people, a devotion
unparalleled in the history of his country.
• “My mission”, he told his former mentor at the
Ateneo, Father Paula de Sanchez, “is to make men
worthy”.
 Courage
• “If I’m to Be Condemned for Desiring the Welfare
of My Country, Condemn Me”
• Rizal’s courage in loving his country is a virtue
that is very relevant today. His moral courage to
do only the best for his people is worth imitating
by our leaders.
• Rizal possessed the essential element of
responsive leadership, that is attending to the
needs of the people in order to keep their love
and affection.
 Will-Power
• “Always with Our Gaze Fixed on Our Country”• Rizal’s
decisions to give his life for his country demonstrated the
perfection of his will to do the duty assigned to him by God.
This was an admirable virtue considering that Spain had
adopted a policy of implanting an inferiority complex on the
Filipinos the better to govern them. Rizal did not accept the
belief that his people were irredeemable.
• He had a clear vision of what to do to make his people happy
and he exerted his best to accomplish this objective.
 Honesty
• The Greatest Honor that a Son Can Pay to His Parents Is
Integrity and a Good Man”
• Integrity is uprightness or a state of being of sound moral
principle. Rizal’s honesty was the result of his constant love
and search for the truth. He possessed I to a high degree of
excellence which everyone of us should imitate.
• Lest we forget, sincerity is a sign of humility, the virtue
which makes us know the truth about ourselves, to accept
the truth and live according to it.• The basic element of
humility is the acceptance that whatever we possess we
owe to God who has planned a duty for us.
 Devotion of Truth
•“It is Not Good to Hide The Truth”. Rizal’s
constant search for truth in serving his country
was an inspiring virtue that endeared him to
his people. The is the same simple trait our
people are looking from our leaders.
• Wanting to get at the cause of his people’s
backwardness, Rizal made intensive studies
and carried on extensive observations on the
progress of nations.
 Self-Sacrifice
• “My Ambition Is Not to Win Honors”.
Another admirable virtue practice by Rizal
was abnegation or self-denial. Self-denial
means giving up one’s desires for a better
cause, as a working for welfare of one’s
country. Self-denial implies self-sacrifice,
love and humility. Rizal sincerely believed
that he was not the only man capable
leading his people.
 Fortitude
•“Do Not Fear that Some May Fall”
• Fortitude or perseverance means
strength of mind in meeting or
enduring pain, adversity or peril. Rizal
practiced fortitude in serving his
country.
• Fortitude in any undertaking requires
faith and hope according to Rizal.
 Serenity
• “It is Necessary that there be Serenity of Spirit”. A man is
serene if he has an unruffled mind. Serenity of spirit stems
from strong personal discipline.
• Rizal related a conversation between a school teacher and
Crisostomo Ibarra wanted to know the problems of learning
and teaching. When asked by Ibarra about his problems, the
teacher spoke against corporal punishment inflicted on the
pupils.
• Rizal’s regard for tranquility of spirit, physical and moral
repose and willingness is never more timely than today.
 Self-Control
•I Have Deprived Myself or Many Pleasure”
• What is self control? How did Rizal Practice self-
control?
•When a man can check his actions and feelings,
he has self-control. The will acts only in seeking
what is good, depending on the intellect for its
data. This is the reason why we must take great
care in presenting only good ideas to the will.
• Rizal showed much self control his lifetime.
Two important examples are worth
recalling. During his students days in
Madrid, he manifested self-control. Once he
visited the house of the Paterno brothers
(Antonio, Maximo and Pedro). They showed
him their house and Rizal was thankful for
their hospitality. When Pedro proposed that
Rizal exhibit the pictures he had, he
refused.
 Initiative
•“The Greatness of a Man IS in Guiding the People
in Its Forward Way”
• Initiative or self-direction is a person’s readiness
to think a line of conduct and ability to carry it
out on his own responsibility. Initiative is a virtue
needed in the progress of society.
 Tolerance
•“One Must have a Deep Respect for every Idea
Sincerely Conceived”
• A person who respects the contrary opinions
of another is tolerant.
• Tolerance is a virtue requiring sympathetic
understanding of the differing opinions and
honest mistakes of another. Tolerance
challenges us to show the utmost patience and
practice real charity.
 Prudence
• “For Reasons of Delicacy I have Suppressed My
Correspondence”
• Prudence is virtue that guides our mind in
choosing the best means of accomplishing a
thing. It directs us to the most polite and
profitable course of action.
• It guides all other virtues because it points out
the mean between excess and defect in the
other virtues. If we do not practice prudence, we
are liable to folly and excesses.
 Obedience
•“I Obeyed Parents”
• When a person does what he is told, he
is obedient. Complying with that the
authorities require of us is obedience.
• Obedience may call for a little sacrifice
on our part of the good of the whole
group. Rizal was a model of obedience.
 Courtesy and Politeness
• “I Want to be Polite and Nice”
• Politeness and courtesy are virtues that give
harmony and charm in our daily life.
•Courtesy is graceful and considerate
behavior toward others, It demand
attention, politeness, refinement and
affidability. Politeness is a quality of being
well-bred.
 Thrift
• “IEconomize”. Thrift is virtue of being economical in
the use of material, money, time and energy. Rizal
practiced the habit of thrift when he was a student in
Madrid, Spain he would have his shoes repaired
instead buying new ones. Now and then he
economized in food expenses.
• When Paterno brothers wanted him to join the
Ateneo de Madrid, a cultural society, he turned down
the suggestion saying, “I find the dues a little
exorbitant.
 Gratitude
•“I Am Very Grateful”. When a person
shows gratefulness, he has grateful
nature. “He that urges gratitude”, wrote
Seneca, pleads the cause of both God
and men, for without it we can neither
be sociable nor religious.
• There is much greatness of mind in
acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it.
 Love for Justice
• “Let Us Be Just”. Justice is the moral
habit by which a man gives to another
what is his due. A man with a good
conscience finds joy in being just
• Rizal fought hard for justice not only
for himself and his family but also for his
people.
 Living By Example
• “Gladly I Depart to Expose Myself to Danger to Confirm
with My Example What I have Always Preached”
• Rizal’s examples on idealism, charity and surrender are
inspiring. Events showing his love for country and people
and dedication to duty are worth-while imitating.
• •Instances in which he displayed courage, will-power,
leadership and self abnegation are admirable. Events
revealing his honesty, love and faith in God, love for
fellowmen and love parents are shining virtues for
everyone.