A Martyr to the Liberty of Speech.
Dr. Jose Rizal, the Most Distinguished Literary Man of the Philippines,
Writer of History, Poetry, Political Pamphlets, and Novels, Shot on the
Luneta of Manila--A Likeness of the Martyr--The Scene of His Execution,
from a Photograph--His Wife Married the Day Before His Death--Poem
Giving His Farewell Thoughts, Written in His Last Hours--The Works
That Cost Him His Life--The Vision of Friar Rodriguez.
There is history, romance and tragedy in the martyrdom of Dr. Rizal,
whose execution by shooting on the Luneta two years ago is a notable
incident of the cruelties of Spanish rule. This was on account of the
scholarship, the influence, the literary accomplishments, and the
personal distinction of the man. Dr. Rizal was easily the foremost
writer his race and country has produced. He was a poet, novelist,
political essayist, and historian, and his execution was for the
crime of loving his country, opposing the Spaniards, criticising and
lampooning the priests. He is called the Tagalo Martyr, for he was of
the tribe of Malay origin, the most numerous and rebellious in the
Philippine Islands. His fate was shocking. He was an intelligent,
learned man, an enthusiastic patriot, who had been educated in
Spain and France. For writing a book against Spanish oppression he
was exiled to the Island of Dapitan. There he met a young woman of
Irish parentage, with whom he fell in love. They were engaged to be
married, when, on some pretext, the Doctor was brought back to Manila,
sent to Madrid to be tried, and then sent back to Manila. The unhappy
girl to whom he was betrothed tells the rest of the story:
"Everyone knew that Dr. Rizal was innocent. All that could be brought
against him was the publication of his book, and the Spanish officials
who tried him had never even read it. Nevertheless, he was condemned to
death. I then asked permission to be married to him, and they granted
my request, thinking to add to the horror of his martyrdom. The
marriage was celebrated by a friar the same day on which he was
sentenced. I passed the whole night on my knees in prayer before
the prison door, which shut my husband from me. When morning dawned,
the Doctor came out, surrounded by soldiers, his hands bound behind
his back. They took him to the Luneta, the fashionable promenade of
the city, where all military executions take place. The lieutenant in
command of the firing party asked my husband where he would prefer
to be shot. He replied 'Through the heart.' 'Impossible,' said the
lieutenant. 'Such a favor is granted only to men of rank. You will be
shot in the back.' A moment after my husband was dead. The soldiers
shouted, 'Hurrah for Spain,' and I, 'Hurrah for the Philippines and
death to Spain.' I asked for the body. It was refused me. Then I swore
to avenge his death. I secured a revolver and dagger and joined the
rebels. They gave me a Mauser rifle, and the Philippines will be free."
In his poem, filled with his last thoughts--his exalted dreams that
had faded, his patriotic sentiments that were bloody dust and ashes,
his love for the woman he was allowed to marry a few hours before
he was shot, his woeful love for his troop of devoted friends, who
would have died for him and with him if the sacrifice then and there
had not been hopeless--it will be discovered that he was a true poet,
and we give one of his stories that was hostile to the orders of the
Church, and a satire on Spanish rule, showing why he was a martyr.
The following is a prose translation from the Spanish of the poem
Dr. Rizal wrote the night before he was executed:
_My Last Thoughts._
Farewell! my adored country; region beloved of the sun; pearl of the
Orient sea; our lost Eden! I cheerfully give for thee my saddened life,
and had it been brighter, happier and more rosy, I would as willingly
give it for thy sake.
Unhesitatingly and without regret others give thee their lives in
frenzied fight on the battlefield. But what matter the surroundings! Be
they cypress, laurel or lilies, scaffold or open country, combat
or cruel martyrdom, it is all the same, when for country and home's
redress.
I die while watching the flushing skies announce through dark mantle
the advent of a day. Should it need purple to tint its dawn, here
is my blood; I gladly will shed it if only it be gilded by a ray of
new-born light.
My dreams while only a boy, and when of vigor full, a youth, were
always to see thee, jewel of the Orient sea! thy black eyes dry,
thy frownless face uplifted, and spotless thine honor.
Dream of my life! My fervent anxiety! Shouts the soul that soon is
to depart, Hail! It is glorious to fall to give thee flight; to die
to give thee life; to die under thy Skies, and in thy maternal bosom
eternally to sleep.
Shouldst thou find some day over my grave, a lonesome, humble flower,
blossoming through the dense foliage, take it to your lips and kiss
my soul. Let me feel upon my forehead under the cold tomb your warm
and tender breath.
Let the moon with her soft and silent light watch over me; let dawn
spread its fulgent splendor; let the wind moan with solemn murmur. And
should a bird descend and repose upon my cross, let it there proclaim
a canticle of peace.
Let the burning sun evaporate the dew, spreading through space the
notes of my songs. Let a friendly being mourn my early end, praying
on calm evenings, when thou also, oh, dear country! should pray to
God for me.
Pray for all those who died unhonored; for those who suffered unequaled
torments; for our poor mothers who silently grieve; for orphans and
for widows; for prisoners in torture; and pray for thyself that thou
mayest attain thy final redemption.
And when the dark shades of night enwrap the cemetery, and the dead
are left alone to watch, do not disturb their rest, do not disturb
their mystery. Shouldst thou hear chords of a zither, it is I,
beloved country! who sings to thee.
And when my grave, by all forgotten, is marked by neither cross
nor stone, let the ploughman scatter its mould; and my ashes before
returning to nothing will become the dust of your soil.
Then, I will not mind if thou castest me into oblivion. Thy atmosphere,
thy space, thy valleys I will cross. A vibrating, limpid note I
will be in your ear; aroma, color, rumor, song, a sigh, constantly
repeating the essence of my faith.
My idolized country! grief of my griefs! My adored Philippines! Hear my
last farewell. I leave them all with thee; my fathers and my loves. I
go where there are no slaves, no oppressors, no executioners; where
faith is not death; where He who reigns is God.
Farewell! fathers and brothers, parts of my soul! Friends of my
infancy in the lost home. Give thanks that I should rest from the
fatiguing day. Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, my joy. Farewell,
beloved beings. To die is to rest.
_Jose Rizal._
_The Vision of Friar Rodriguez._
Comfortably seated in an arm chair one night, satisfied with himself
as well as with his supper, Friar Jose Rodriguez dreamed of the
many pennies that the sale of his little books was drawing from the
pockets of the Filipinos, when suddenly, and as if by enchantment,
the yellow light of the lamp gave a brilliant, white flash, the air
was filled with soft perfume, and without his being able to explain
how or wherefrom, a man appeared.
This was an old man of medium height, dark complected and thin,
whose white beard was a contrast to his glittering vivacious eyes,
which gave his face extreme animation. Over his shoulder he wore a
long cape; a mitre on his head and a crosier in his hand gave him
the aspect of a Bishop.
At sight of him, Friar Rodriguez yawning, murmured:
"Dreams of my fertile imagin--!"
The vision did not permit him to finish the exclamation, but gave
him a whack between the shoulders.
"Eh! This is no joke!" exclaimed Friar Rodriguez, stroking with one
hand the afflicted part while with the other he rubbed his eyes.
"I see! It is no dream! But partner!"
Incensed at such familiarity, the strange personage began poking
Friar Rodriguez severely with his crosier on the stomach. The latter,
satisfied by this time that the thrashing was in earnest, exclaimed:
"Here! Here! Friar Pedro (Peter)--Is that the way you cancel
indulgencies? That was not the agreement."
The strange Bishop, aroused to a high pitch of anger, stopped his
poking and started to knock Friar Rodriguez on the head, believing
it to be a more sensitive part. Unfortunately, Friar Rodriguez's
head was too hard for anything, and the crosier fell, broken in two
pieces. At last! said the poor friar, who, pale and deadly frightened,
had fallen on his knees and was trying to creep away on all fours.
At sight of his pitiful condition, the stranger seeded satisfied,
and, placing on a table the broken crosier, said with contempt:
"Homo sine homine, membra sine spiritu! Et iste appellatur filius
meus!"
At the sound of that potent voice and language, unknown to him, Friar
Rodriguez appeared confounded. The stranger could not be Friar Pedro
(Peter) nor any brother in disguise! Impossible!
"Et tamen (the stranger continued), tanta est vanita vestra, ut ante
me Patrem vestrum--sed video, loguor et non audis!"
And shaking in disgust his head, the vision continued speaking in
Castillian, but with a foreign accent.
"And are you they who call themselves my sons? Has your haughtiness
reached such a degree that you not only pretend to be feared and
worshiped by governors and governed, but neither recognize nor respect
me, whose name you dishonor, and whose condignity you abuse? How do
I find you? Insolent with the unfortunate and cowardly towards those
who do not fear you! Surge et audi!"
His voice was so imperative and his command so expressive, that Friar
Rodriguez, although shaking with tremor, made every effort to stand
against a corner of the room.
Moved by this proof of obedience, so rarely found amongst those who
make a vow of humility, the stranger, full of contempt, repressed
a sigh and proceeded in a more familiar manner, but without losing
dignity.
"For you and for your nonsense I have been obliged to leave that
region, and come here! And what trouble I had to distinguish and
find you amongst the others! With but little difference, you are
all alike. 'Empty heads and replete stomachs!' _Up There_, they
did not cease to tease me about you all and most especially on your
account. It was useless to appear unconcerned. It was not only Lopez
de Recalde (Ignatius of Loyole) who with his eternal smile and humble
looks made fun of me; nor Domingo (Dominic) with his aristocratic
pretensions and little stars of false jewelry on his forehead, who
laughed at me; but even the great simpleton of Francisco (Francis),
do you understand? tried to poke fun at me; at me, who has thought,
argued and written more than all of them together!
"Your order is great and powerful," said Ignatius, bending his
head. "It resembles one of the Egyptian pyramids; great at the base
(you are the base), but the higher it goes the smaller it becomes--what
a difference between the base and the apex!" he murmured, while walking
away. "Doctor," said Dominic, "why did you not do with your science
as I did with the nobility I left as inheritance to my sons? We would
all be better off!"
"Mon ami, came and said Francis. If God should order me again to
earth, to preach as before amongst brutes and animals, I would preach
in your convents." And after saying this he roared in such a manner
that although small and thin, it seemed as though he would burst.
"In vain I answered them that their sons were no better than you are,
and that were we to look for skeletons in the closets, we had better
wall every crevice. But of no use. How could I argue against three,
moreover, having you to defend! Three, did I say? Why! Even Peter,
the old fisherman, attracted by the laughter, left his porter's lodge
and came to upbraid me for the trick you have played on his priests,
taking away from them all their parishes, regardless of the fact that
they had been in these islands long before you, and that they were
the first to baptise in Cebu and in Luzon.
"Of course," he said, "as my sons are lazy and in dissension among
themselves, and yours lie and shout louder, they make themselves
believed by the ignorant. But I shall be glad when my descendants
are extinct."
"And so shall I! And I! I wish it was all over with mine!" shouted
at once several voices.
"But old Peter's revenge did not stop at that. Yesterday he played
a hard joke on me. He not only confiscated a package that a Tagalo
[5] brought with him, but instead of directing him to the imbecile's
department, he took him where we all were. The poor Tagalo carried with
him a large collection of little books written by you, which were given
him by his Priest, who told him they represented so much indulgency
for his next life. As soon as the Indian had arrived everyone _Up
There_ knew he had brought books written by an Augustinian monk,
and they were snatched away. I tried to hide myself, but I could
not. What laughter and what jokes! The little angels came in a body;
the Celestial Father's Orchestra lost its time; the Virgins, instead of
watching their music sheets read the books and sang most discordantly,
and even old Anthony's little pig began grunting and twisting his tail.
"I felt ashamed; I could see every one point their finger at me and
laugh. But, in spite of all this Zarathustra, the grave and serious
Zarathustra, did not laugh. With a humiliating pride he asked me:
"'Is that your son, he who pretends that my religion is paganish,
and that I am a pagan? Have your sons degenerated to such a degree
as to confound my pure religion, root of the most perfect creeds,
with Polytheism and Idolatry? Do they know that paganism is derived
from pagani, which means inhabitant of the fields, who always were
faithful to the Greek and Roman Polytheism? You may answer that they do
not know Latin! If so, make then speak more modestly. Tell them that
paganus comes from pagus, from which the words pages, payes, paien,
paese, pais (country), are derived. Tell those unfortunate that the
Zend-Avesta religion was never professed by the rural inhabitants
of the Roman country. Tell them that my religion is monotheist, even
more so than the Roman Catholic religion, which not only accepted the
dualism of my creed, but has deified several creatures. Tell them
that Paganism in its widest and most corrupted sense, duly meant
Polytheism; that neither my religion nor that of Moses nor Mohammed
were ever Pagan religions. Tell them to read your own works, where
in every page you refer to the Pagans. Repeat to them that which you
said in speaking of the religion of the Manechees (a corruption of my
doctrine by you professed) which influenced your works and prevails
yet in your religion, and which at one time caused the Roman Catholic
Church to vacillate. Yes: I linked the principle of Good and Evil
together--Ahura-Mazda; God! But this is not to admit of two Gods, as
you, yourself said. To speak of health and sickness is not to admit two
healths. And what? Have they not copied my principle of evil in Satan,
prince of darkness? Tell them that if they do not know Latin to at
least study the religions, since they fail to recognize the true one!'
"Thus spoke Zarathustra, or Zoroaster. Then, Voltaire--Voltaire,
who had heard what you were saying about his death, accosted me,
and grasping me by the hand, effusively thanked me.
"'Why so?' I asked him.
"'Your sons, mon cher Docteur de l'Eglise,' he answered, 'have proved
and continue proving by facts, that which I maintained. And what was
it that you maintained? That besides being ignorant, they were liars.'
"To this I could not reply, for he was right. You should know that
he died when 84 years of age, possessed of all his faculties, and
with so lucid a mind that when nearing his end and being importuned
to make confession, he said: 'Let me die in peace'--and died. But the
worst of it all is, that Voltaire has been pleading with God to take
you to Heaven alive and clothed, and when asked why so, he answered
'So that we may have some fun.'
"On learning of all the indulgences that the Archbishop had allowed
on your books, to allure buyers, old Peter, thumping his bald head,
exclaimed:
"'Why did I not think of granting indulgencies with the fish I
sold, when a fisherman? We would have been rich, and Judas, instead
of selling the Master, would have sold sardines and tinapa! [6]
I would not have been obliged to cowardly apostatize, and would not
have suffered martyrdom. Verily, I say, that my friend down _Below_
leaves me behind in the matter of knowing how to make money; and yet
I am a Jew.'
"'Of course, don't you know that your friend _Below_ is a Gallego?' [7]
Said a little old man who had been _Up There_ but a few years. His
name was Tasio, and, addressing himself to me, he continued:
"'You are a great Doctor, and although you have contradicted yourself
many times, I hold you as a privileged character of vast erudition,
for, having written your books, Retractationum, and Confesiones;
and since you are so different from your sons who try, when defending
themselves, to make black appear white, and white green, I will state
my complaints, so that you, as their Father, may put a stop to it all.
"'There exists on earth an unfortunate, who, amongst many foolish acts,
has committed the following:
"'1st. He holds solidary of all that I have said during my earthly
life, an Indian called Rizal, only because said Indian has quoted
my words in a book that he wrote. As you can see, should we follow
such a system of reasoning, Rizal would also agree with the views
expressed by friars, policemen, etc., and you, yourself, Holy Doctor,
would also be solidary of all that you ascribe to heretics, Pagans,
and above all, to Manichees.
"'2nd. He wants me to think as he himself does, since he quotes me
as saying 'The Bible and the Holy Gospel.' It may be well that he,
as all fanatics, should believe that these are one and the same
thing. But I, having studied the original Hebraic Bible, know,
that it does not contain the Gospel. That the Jewish Bible, being
a history of creation, treasure and patrimony of Jewish people,
the Jews, who do not accept the Gospel, should be authority. That as
the Latin translation is incorrect, the Catholics could not lay down
the Law, notwithstanding their habit of appropriating everything to
themselves, and of misconstruing to their advantage the translation of
the original text. Besides, the Gospels, with the exception of that
written by Saint Mathew, were written in Greek later than the Bible,
and conflict in every respect with the Law of Moses, as proved by the
enemity between Jews and Christians. How, then, could I, knowing all
this, express myself as a fanatic, or as an ignorant monk? I do not
exact from any monk the speech of a free-thinker and therefore, they
should not exact that I express myself as a monk would. Why do they
want me to consolidate under one name two distinct things, which, to
a certain extent contradict each other? Let the Christians do so, but
I must not, and cannot. If I call them separately, it is in accordance
with the thought inspiring two works, two legislations, two religions,
on which they want to found the Catholic Religion. Your son, moreover,
reasons finely, when he says: 'I did not know that the Gospels were
different from the Bible, and not a principal part of it.' Tell him,
Holy Father, that in every country a part, no matter how principal may
it be, is always different from the whole, for instance: The principal
thing in Friar Rodriguez is his habit: but his habit is different from
Friar Rodriguez, as otherwise there would be one dirty Friar Rodriguez,
another shining, another creased, another wide, short, long, greasy,
etc. On the other hand, the habit is different from the monk, because
a piece of cloth, no matter how dirty, could never be presumptuous,
despotic, ignorant or obscurantistic.
"'3d. To prove the existence of a Purgatory, he quotes: 'Saint
Mathew says in Chapter twelfth, thirty-sixth verse----.' But he
quotes wrongly, as from that verse cannot be derived the existence
of a Purgatory, nor anything of its kind. The Hebrew text says:
'Wa 'ebif 'omar lakam kij 'al kal abar reg ashar idabbru 'abaschim
yittbu heschboun biom hammischphat'; the Greek text, 'Lego de hynun
hote pan rema argon, ho ean lalesosin hoi anthropoi, apodosousi peri
auton logon en hemera kriseos.' All these translated into Latin say:
'Dicto autem vobis, quoniam omne verbum otiosum quod locuti fucrint
homines, reddent rationem de co in die judicii,' which, translated
into English means, '_And I say to you, that on the Day of Judgment,
men shall have to account for every idle word_.' From all these texts,
you can see, Holy Doctor, that the only thing to be derived is that
on the Day of Judgment, Friar Rodriguez will have to give such an
account of himself, that very likely it will take him two days to
account for all the nonsense he has said.
"'I imagine that your son, instead of the thirty-sixth verse, meant
to quote the thirty-second, which says: "And all who shall say word
against the son of man will be forgiven; but he who says word against
the Holy Ghost, shall not be pardoned; neither in this life nor in
the next." From this they have tried to derive the existence of a
Purgatory. What a fertile imagination!
"'4th. Because Saint Ireneus, St. Clement of Alexandria, and Origenes,
three in all, although not being the first Christian, had some
remote idea of Purgatory, it does not follow that the Christians of
the first century did believe in it, unless it could be previously
established that three persons represent a totality, even if amongst
such a totality existed, contradictory ideas. But, as a proof that
was it not so, you, yourself, Holy Doctor, being their father, having
flourished in the fourth and fifth century, and supposed to be the
greatest amongst the Fathers of the Church, denied most emphatically,
in various instances, the existence of a Purgatory. In your CCXCV
cermon, beginning by: 'Frecuenter charitatem vestra,' etc., you said
very decidedly: 'Nemo se slecipiat fratres; _Duo_ cuim _loca_ sunt
et _terius_ non est ullus. Qui cum Christo reguare non meruerit, cum
diabolo _absque dubitatione ulla_ perebit.' This translated means,
'Do not deceive yourselves, brethren; there are but two places for
the soul and there is no third place. He who should not deserve to
live with Christ, _undoubtedly_ will perish.'
"'Further on, in de Consolatione mortuorum, you say: 'Sed recedus
anima quoe carnalibus oculis non videtur, ab angelis susciptur et
collocatur, aut in sinu, Abrahae, si fidelis est, aut in carcerio
inferni custodia si peccatrix est.' This means, 'But at the departure
of that soul which the eyes of the flesh cannot see, the angels will
receive and carry it to the Bosom of Abraham, if it has been faithful;
or to Hell, if sinful.' On the other hand, I could quote a large
number of your own texts showing that for you, Purgatory was not an
impossibility. Add to all this what Saint Fulgentius, who flourished
after you during the fifth and sixth century, says in Chapter XIV.,
of his 'de incarnatione et gratia,' etc.: 'Quicumque regnum Dei non
ingreditur, poenis oeternis cruciatur.' That is to say, 'He who could
not enter the Kingdom of God, will suffer eternal punishment.'
"'5th. Your son either cannot read, or else acts in bad faith;
otherwise, how could he, from my estatement, 'The Protestants _do
not believe_ in it; neither do the Greek Fathers, because they miss,'
etc., try to make 'The Greek Fathers DID NOT believe in a Purgatory?'
"'How could he deduct from a present, a past tense and twist the
sentences to make from it 'The Holy Greek Fathers?'
"'I used '_believe_,' the present tense, although in my time the _Holy
Greek Fathers_ did not exist, but simply the fathers belonging to
the Greek Church. Moreover, as I was following an historical order,
how could I refer to the Protestants, first, and to the _Holy Greek
Fathers_ afterwards, who believed what they wished, and who at the
time of my earthly life were a past to me?
"'And enwrapped in such bad faith, he dares to qualify as a slanderer,
imposter and ignoramus, the man who only quoted me!
"'But such proceeding is worthy of Friar Rodriguez, who, following his
system of confusing a part with the whole, tries to condemn another's
book, and mistakes the rays of the sun for the sun itself, all with
the purpose of slandering the author and calling him Freemason.
"'Tell me, Holy Doctor, after what I have told you, who is the real
ignoramus, impostor and slanderer?
"'6th. Instead of accusing others of ignorance, and presuming to know
everything, he should be careful, because he has not even read your
books, notwithstanding you are his father, and that it is his duty to
know what you have said. Should he have done so, he would neither have
written so much nonsense nor would he have shown the shallowness of his
knowledge, which, by the way, he derives from some little books, which,
to propagate and maintain obscurantism, were published in Cataluna,
[8] by Sarda y Salvany.'
"Thus was old Tasio expressing himself, when the voice of the Almighty
was heard summoning me to His presence.
"Trembling, I approached, and prostrated myself at His feet.'
"'Go to Earth,' said the voice, 'and tell those who call themselves
your sons that I, having created millions of suns, around which,
thousands of worlds, inhabited by millions of millions of beings,
created by my infinite Mercy, gyrate, cannot be an instrument to the
fulfilment of a few ungrateful creatures' passions, simply handfuls
of dust carried away by a gust of wind; insignificant particles of
the inhabitants of one of my smallest worlds!'
"'Tell them that my Name must not be used to extend the misery or
ignorance of their brothers, nor shall they restrain in my Name,
intelligence and thought, which I created free. That they must not
commit abuses in my Name, cause a tear, nor a single drop of blood to
be shed. That they must not represent me as being cruel, revengeful,
subject to their whims and executor of their will. Not to represent me,
The Fountain of Goodness, as a tyrant, or an unkind Father, pretending
that they are the only possessors of Light and Eternal Life. How? I,
who have given to each being air, light, life and love, that he may be
happy, could I deny to one of the most transcendental, true happiness,
for the sake of others? Impious! Absurd! Tell them that I, who am All,
and apart from whom nothing exists, nor could exist, I have not and
cannot have enemies. Nothing equals me, and no one can oppose my will!
"'Tell them that their enemies are not my enemies; that I have
never identified myself with them, and that their maxims are vain,
insensible, blasphemous! Tell them that I pardon error, but punish
iniquity; that I will forgive a sin against me, but will prosecute
those who should torture an unfortunate. That being infinitely
Powerful, all the sins of all the inhabitants of all the worlds,
thousands of times centuplicated, can never dim an atom of my
glory. But the least injury to the poor and oppressed I will punish,
for I have not created man to make him unhappy nor the victim of his
brothers. I am the Father of all existent; I know the destiny of every
atom; let me love all men, whose miseries and needs I know. Let each
one perform his duty, that I, The God of Mercy, know my own will.'
"Thus spoke the Almighty; and I came here to fulfill his command. Now,
I say to you:
"That the miseries of the unhappy Indian whom you have impoverished
and stupefied, have reached the Throne of the Highest. _There_ have
arrived so many intelligences obscured and impaired by you! The cry
of so many exiles, tortured, and killed at your instigation! The tears
of so many mothers and the miseries of so many orphans, combined with
the noise of your orgies! Know that there is a God, (perhaps you doubt
His existence, and only use His name to advance your ends) who will
some day call you to account for all your iniquities. Know that He
needs not the money of the poor, nor is it necessary to worship Him
by burning candles and incense, saying masses or believing blindly
what others say, contrary to common sense.
"No! His luminary is greater than your own sun; His flowers more
fragrant than those on earth. He suffices to Himself. He created
intelligence for no subservient purpose; but that with its use, man
could be happy in raising himself to Him. He needs no one. He created
man, not for His sake, but for man's own. He is happy for all eternity!
"You obstinately uphold the existence of a Purgatory, using even the
most ignoble weapons and means to defend your belief. Why, instead
of wasting your time in affirming the existence of that which you
never saw, do you not preach and practice love and charity amongst
yourselves? Why not preach words of comfort and hope, to somewhat
soothe the miseries of life, instead of frightening your brothers by
tales of future punishment? Why? Because Christ's True Doctrine would
bring you no earthly wealth, and all that you look for is gold, and
gold! And to satisfy your end and bleed the timid souls, of money,
you have invented a Purgatory! Why afflict orphans and widows with
dreadful tales of the next life, only to extort from them a few
cents? Have you forgotten what the Apostle said? 'Nolo vos ignorare,
fratres, de dormientibus, ut non contristenuni, sicut qui spem non
habent,' which means, 'I do not wish you to ignore, brethren, that
which concerns those who sleep, that you may not be saddened, like
those who have lost all hope.' Also, that I, myself, have said? 'Hoec
enim est Christianoe fidei summa: vitam veram expectare post mortem,'
that is 'Here is then the summary of the Christian faith: to hope for
a true life after death.' But you, lacking in charity, and for a vile,
greedy interest, live in opposition to Christ, and pretend to be able
to mould Divine Judgment. All the strength of your philosophy seems
to be derived from your own theory, which denies the existence of
souls sufficiently sinners to be condemned, or pure enough to enter
the Kingdom of God! By whose authority do you pretend to oppose the
judgment of Him who weighs and considers the smallest thought? Who
knows it is impossible to expect perfection from beings made of clay,
subject to the miseries and oppressions of earthly life? Who told you
that He will judge as you, with your narrow, limited intelligence,
do? That the miseries of this life are not expiations of sins?
"Cease in your avaricious hoarding of wealth! You have now enough. Do
not wrench from the poor his last mouthful of bread.
"Remember what Saint Fulgentius said: 'Et si mithetur in stagnum
ignis et sulphuris qui nudum vestimento non tegit, quid passures
est qui vestimento crudelis expoliat? Et si rerum suarem avarus
possessor requiem non habebit, quomodo aliaenarum rerum insatiabilis
raptor?' Meaning, 'And if he who never clothed the naked is sent to
the pond of fire and sulphur, where will he, who cruelly stripped
them, go? And if the greedy possessor of his own wealth may never
rest, how shall it be with the thief, insatiable in his greed for
the wealth of others?'
"Preach then, the religion of Hope and Promises, as you, above
all, are in need of pardon and forgiveness. Do not speak of rigor,
nor condemn others, lest God should hear and judge you according to
the laws by you formulated. Bear always in mind Christ's words, 'Vae
vobis scribae et Pharisae hypocrite qui clauditis regnum coelorum ante
homines; vos non intratis, nec introeunts sinitis intrare!' This means,
'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, who close to men the Kingdom of
God, and neither enter nor allow others to enter!'
"Now, to you personally, I will say: You are an unfortunate fool,
who speak numberless absurdities, although I could not expect aught
else from you, and would not punish you for them. But you have had the
audacity of not only insulting others, by which you forgot truth and
charity, but praised yourself and called attention to your own praise.
"Referring to yourself, you said. This Father, whom I well know (liar,
you do not even know yourself), although he may appear a little hard
headed (a little hard-headed? Ask my crosier if your head is not harder
than stone), never speaks in vain (this is true; every word you say
causes as much laughter on earth as in Heaven), nor uses words without
first thinking (if such is true, your intelligence is very limited).
"For such foolish vanity I ought to punish you severely, so that you
would stop forever your senseless writings, saving me the trouble of
coming to reprimand you at every instance.
"Were I to judge you according to your own theory, you should at
least go to your Purgatory. But, after all, you are not so bad,
as many learned persons are made to laugh at your writings.
"It would be well for your pride if you allowed the Indians to pass
by you without taking off their hats or kissing your hand. But then,
they would be imprisoned or exiled, and it would not do to increase
the wrong you do them.
"Shall I make you lame and dumb? No! Your brothers would claim it
was a trial of your forbearance, to which God had submitted you. No;
you won't catch me on that!
"What shall I do with you?"
The old Bishop meditated for a few moments, and then, he exclaimed:
"Ah! Now I know! Your own sin shall be your punishment!
"I condemn you to continue saying and writing nonsense for the rest
of your life, so that the world may laugh at you, and also, that on
the Day of Judgment you may be judged according to your deserts!"
"Amen!" replied Friar Rodriguez.
The vision then disappeared; the light of the lamp regained its
yellowish flame, and the soft perfume dispersed.
On the following day Friar Rodriguez started writing greater nonsense,
with renewed energy.
Amen!
_Jose Rizal._
Note.--The foregoing admirable translations from the writings of
Dr. Rizal were made by Mr. F.M. de Rivas, of Chicago.