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Rizal's Own Story of His Life
My Birth and Earliest Years in Kalamba
I was born on Wednesday, the nineteenth of June, 1861. It was a few days before the full of the moon. I found myself in a village. I had some slight notions of the morning sun and of my parents. That is as much as I can recall of my baby days.
The training which I received from my earliest infancy is perhaps what formed my habits. I can recall clearly my first gloomy nights, passed on the azotea of our house. They seem as yesterday! They were nights filled with the poetry of sadness and seem near now because at present my days are so sad. On moonlight nights, I took my supper on the azotea. My nurse, who was very fond of me, used to threaten to leave me to a terrible but imaginary being like the bogey of the Europeans if I did not eat.
I was born on Wednesday, the nineteenth of June, 1861. It was a few days before the full of the moon. I found myself in a village. I had some slight notions of the morning sun and of my parents. That is as much as I can recall of my baby days.
The training which I received from my earliest infancy is perhaps what formed my habits. I can recall clearly my first gloomy nights, passed on the azotea of our house. They seem as yesterday! They were nights filled with the poetry of sadness and seem near now because at present my days are so sad. On moonlight nights, I took my supper on the azotea. My nurse, who was very fond of me, used to threaten to leave me to a terrible but imaginary being like the bogey of the Europeans if I did not eat.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 9, 2015
14 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
José Rizal
327 books470 followersSpanish exiled Philippine reformer and writer José Rizal from 1892 to 1896 for his political novels, later arrested him, and executed him for sedition; his death helped to fuel an insurrection against rule from 1896 to 1898.
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, a polymath nationalist, most prominently advocated during the colonial era. Poeple consider him the national hero and commemorate the anniversary of his death as a holiday, called Rizal day. His military trial made him a martyr of the revolution.
The seventh of eleven children to a wealthy family in the town, Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts. He enrolled in medicine and philosophy and letters at the University of Santo Tomas and then traveled alone to Madrid, Spain, where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid, earning the licentiate in medicine. He attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. Rizal, a polyglot, conversed at least in ten languages. He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo. These are social commentaries on the Philippines that formed the nucleus of literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against the Spanish colonial authorities.
As a political figure, Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andrés Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his martyred death as the catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, a polymath nationalist, most prominently advocated during the colonial era. Poeple consider him the national hero and commemorate the anniversary of his death as a holiday, called Rizal day. His military trial made him a martyr of the revolution.
The seventh of eleven children to a wealthy family in the town, Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts. He enrolled in medicine and philosophy and letters at the University of Santo Tomas and then traveled alone to Madrid, Spain, where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid, earning the licentiate in medicine. He attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. Rizal, a polyglot, conversed at least in ten languages. He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo. These are social commentaries on the Philippines that formed the nucleus of literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against the Spanish colonial authorities.
As a political figure, Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andrés Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his martyred death as the catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 23, 2021
Absolutely enjoyed reading this book! I’m currently taking a Rizal class for uni so I decided to pick up this book as an extra learning material. I loved getting to know Rizal in a more intimate and personal way. What a fun read, and I absolutely loved that there were so many pictures! I wish there were more diary entries, I loved reading those the most.
August 19, 2018
A Very Personal View of a Genius
"Rizal's Own Story of His Life" is pieced together from various writings, and interspersed with illustrations of his artwork and photographs of various places and people. The text portion consists of letters, essays, some poetry, and other compositions, all in Rizal's voice from different periods of his short life Because the work spans from things written when Rizal was as young as 17 to just before his death at 35, there is wide variety. Also, there is some overlap and sections not in chronological order. Sometimes, the time period is unclear.
Still, it is enlightening to read these pieces, most written for purposes other than autobiography. Rizal's genius is reflected in the great breadth of his writing and the descriptions of his experiences and his sometimes surprising perspective on those experiences. He reflects on his earliest childhood experiences and his relationships with family and friends. Some things as mundane as his daily schedules are described, early stories that impacted him, and many of the struggles he faced.
Reflecting on his mother's arrest when he was a boy, he wrote of his grief and that "since then, child though I was, I have distrusted friendship." Writing about how his mother was deceived foreshadows his own later years. He also gives advice, in a letter: "Keep on advancing. Learn, learn and think much about what you learn. Life is a very serious matter. It goes well only for those who have intelligence and heart." In addition, there are lists of Filipino Proverbs and of Rizal's Don'ts, as well as "Memory Gems From Rizal's Writings."
Rizal's own writings give a different view of the man than other biographies. While other biographies often focus on his political involvement or his great genius, this book reveals a more human, more vulnerable, and more personal boy and man. It is well worth reading.
"Rizal's Own Story of His Life" is pieced together from various writings, and interspersed with illustrations of his artwork and photographs of various places and people. The text portion consists of letters, essays, some poetry, and other compositions, all in Rizal's voice from different periods of his short life Because the work spans from things written when Rizal was as young as 17 to just before his death at 35, there is wide variety. Also, there is some overlap and sections not in chronological order. Sometimes, the time period is unclear.
Still, it is enlightening to read these pieces, most written for purposes other than autobiography. Rizal's genius is reflected in the great breadth of his writing and the descriptions of his experiences and his sometimes surprising perspective on those experiences. He reflects on his earliest childhood experiences and his relationships with family and friends. Some things as mundane as his daily schedules are described, early stories that impacted him, and many of the struggles he faced.
Reflecting on his mother's arrest when he was a boy, he wrote of his grief and that "since then, child though I was, I have distrusted friendship." Writing about how his mother was deceived foreshadows his own later years. He also gives advice, in a letter: "Keep on advancing. Learn, learn and think much about what you learn. Life is a very serious matter. It goes well only for those who have intelligence and heart." In addition, there are lists of Filipino Proverbs and of Rizal's Don'ts, as well as "Memory Gems From Rizal's Writings."
Rizal's own writings give a different view of the man than other biographies. While other biographies often focus on his political involvement or his great genius, this book reveals a more human, more vulnerable, and more personal boy and man. It is well worth reading.
December 13, 2022
Interesting to read Rizal's experiences as told by him. His essays and poems such as Hymn to Labor gave insights into the kind of world he lived in.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews