Chapter 4

SCHOLASTIC TRIUMPHS AT ATENEO

DE MANILA (1872-1877)

Prepared by: Mica Jannele Anico

Escuela Pia
(Charity School)

Ateneo
Municipal

Ateneo de
Manila

A college under the supervision of the

Spanish Jesuits
Bitter rival of the Dominican-owned
College of San Juan de Letran

A school for boys in Manila established by

the city government in 1817
Acquired prestige as an excellent college
for boys

June 10, 1872

He was accompanied by Paciano, went to
Manila
He took the entrance examinations on
Christian doctrine, arithmetic and reading at
the College of San Juan de Letran

Rizal Enters the

Ateneo
Father Magin Ferrando, who was the school
registrar, refused to admit him for two
reasons:
1. He was late for registration
2. He was sickly and undersized for
his
age
However, upon the intercession of Manuel
Xerez Burgos, nephew of Father Burgos, he
was reluctantly admitted at the Ateneo which
was located at Intramuros, outside the wall of
Manila.

 Jose was the first of his family to adopt the

surname Rizal. Their family name
Mercado had come suspicion of the
Spanish authorities.
First boarded at Caraballo Street
25 min walk from the college
Owned by a spi mm nister named Titay who
owed the Rizal family P300

Jesuit System of
Education
The system of education given by the
Jesuits in the Ateneo more advanced than
that of other colleges in that period.
Trained the student by rigid discipline and
religious instruction
Physical culture
Humanities
Scientific studies
Agriculture
Commerce
Mechanics
Surveying

 Students were divided into two groups:

1. The Roman Empire
- consisting of the internos (boarders)

2. Carthaginian Empire
- composed of the externos (non-boarders)

Ranks
Best student Emperor
Second best Tribune
Third best Decurion
Fourth best Centrurion
Fifth best Standard-bearer

Red for the Romans and Blue for the Carthaginians

Upon the first defeat, the banner of the losing party
was transferred to the left side of the room. Upon the
second, it was placed in an inferior position on the
right side. Upon the third, the inclined flag was
placed on the left. Upon the fourth, the flag was
reversed and returned to the right. Upon the fifth, the
reversed flag was placed on the left. Upon the sixth,
the banner was changed with a figure of a donkey.
Uniform

Hemp-fabric trousers
Stripped cotton coat
The coat material was called rayadillo, which later
became popular for it was adopted as the uniform for
Filipino troops during the days of the First Philippine
Republic

Rizals First Year in Ateneo (18721873)

Fr. Jose Bech

- first professor in Ateneo

- Tall, thin man, with a body slightly bent forward,
a harried walk, an ascetic face, severe as inspired,
small seep-sunken eyes, a sharp nose that was almost
Greek, and thin lips forming an arc whose end fell
toward the chin.
Belonged to the Carthaginians in which he was an
externo
Became the emperor at the end of the month
How pleased I was he said, when I won my first
prize, a religious picture!
Took private lessons in Santa Isabel College during
the noon recesses to improve his Spanish, which was
actualy P3 per session
Placed second at the end of the year

Summer Vacation (1873)

Returned to Calamba for summer vacation
but he did not particularly enjoy because his
mother was in prison
Brought to Tanawan by his sister Neneng
(Saturnina) to cheer him up, but did not cure
his melancholy
Went to Santa Cruz without telling his father
in order to visit his mother
Boarded inside Intramuros at No. 6
Magallanes St. His landlady was an old
widow named Dona Pepay.

Second Year in Ateneo (1873-1874)

Once more, he became emperor
Three of his new classmates were boys from
Bian, who had been his classmates in the
school of Maestro Justiniano
Received excellent grades in all subjects and a
gold medal at the end of the school year

Prophecy of Mother's Release

In the course of Rizal and his mothers
conversation, Doa Teodora told her son of
her dream the previous night. Rizal,
interpreting the dream, told her mother that
she would be released from prison in three
months time.
Rizals prophecy became true. Doa
Teodora was set free.
Dona Teodora, happily back in Calamba.
- Rizal whom she likened to be the youthful Joseph in
the Bible in his ability to interpret dreams.

Teenage Interest in
Reading
First favorite novel
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

Read not only fiction, but also non-fiction

Persuaded his father to buy him a costly set of
Universal History by Cesar Cantu
Read Travel in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor
Jagor, a German scientist-traveler who visited the
Philippines in 1865-1890
1.

Jagors keen observations of the defects of Spanish

colonization
2. His prophecy that someday Spain would lose the
Philippines and that America would come to succeed
her as a colonizer

Third Year in Ateneo (1874-1875)

After the opening of classes, his mother arrived
and joyously told him that she was released from
prison.
Rizal did not make an excellent showing in his
studies as in the previous year
His grades remained in all subjects but he won
only one medal in Latin
Failed to win the medal in Spanish because his
spoken Spanish wasn't fluently sonorous.
Beaten by a Spaniard who, naturally, could speak
Spanish with fluency and right accentuation

Fourth Year in Ateneo (18751876)

Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez
- one of his professors
- a great educator and scholar
- inspired the young Ria to study harder and write
poetry
- became an admirer and friend of the great
Calamba lad
- considered by Rizal as his best professor in Ateneo
- model of uprightness, earnestness and love for
the
advancement of his pupils

Became an interno on June 16, 1875

Topped all his classmates in all subjects and won
five (5) medals at the end of the school term

Last Year in Ateneo (1876-1877)

The most brilliant Atenean of his time
The pride of the Jesuits
Obtained the highest grades in all subjects
philosophy, physics, biology, chemistry,
languages, mineralogy, etc.

Graduation with Highest Honors

Rizal graduated at the head of his class. His scholastic records at the
Ateneo from 1872-77 were as follows:

1872-1873
Arithmetic Excellent
Latin 1
Excellent
Spanish 1 Excellent
Greek 1
Excellent
1873-1874
Latin 2
Excellent
Spanish 2 Excellent
Greek 3 Excellent
Universal Excellent
Geology

1874-1875
Latin 3 Excellent
Spanish 3 Excellent
Greek 3 Excellent
Univesal History Excellent
History of Spain and the Philippines
Excellent
Arithmetic and Algebra Excellent

1873-1874
Rhetoric and Poetry
Excellent
French 1 Excellent
Geometry and Trigonometry
Excellent

1873-1874
Philosophy 1 Excellent
Mineralogy & Chemistry Excellent
Philosophy 2 Excellent
Physics Excellent
Botany & Zoology Excellent

On Commencement Day, March 23, 1877, Rizal,

received from his Alma Mater, The Ateneo
Municipal the degree of Bachelor of Arts, with
highest honors

Extra-Curricular Activities in Ateneo

An emperor inside the classroom, a campus leader
outside
An active member, later secretary, of a religious society, the
Marian Congregation
Devoted to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the
college patroness
Member of the Academy of Spanish Literature and the
Academy of Natural Sciences
Continued to solicit Father Sanchez help in improving his
poetry
Devoted his spare time to fine arts
Studied painting under the famous Spanish painter, Agustin Saez
Studied sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus

Engaged in gymnastics and fencing under his sportsminded Tio Manuel

Sculpture Works in
Ateneo
Carved an image of The Virgin Mary on a
piece of batikuling (Philippine hardwood) with
his pocket knife
Requested by Father Lleonart, who was
impressed by his sculptural talent, to carve
him an image of the Sacred heart of Jesus
Placed at the door of the dormitory of the Ateneo
boarding students
Reminded all the Ateneans the greatest alumnus of
their Alma Mater, Dr. Jose Rizal
Played a significant part in Rizals last hours at Fort
Santiago

Anecdotes on Rizal, the Atenean

Felix M. Roxas
- Revealed the heros resignation to pain and
forgiveness
Manuel Xerex Burgos
- Illustrated Rizals predilection to help the
helpless at the risk of his own life

Poems Written in Ateneo

Mi Primera Inspiracin (My First Inspiration)
First poem in Ateneo. Dedicated to his mother on her
birthday.
Wrote it before he was 14 years old, in the year 1874.

In 1875, inspired by Father Sanchez

1. Felicitacin (Felicitation)
2. El Embarque: Himno a la Flota de Magallanes.
(The Departure: Hymn to Magellans Fleet)
3. Y Es Espaol: Elcano, el Primero en dar la
Vuelta al Mundo (And He is Spanish: Elcano,
the First to Circumnavigate the World)
4. El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror de Jolo (The
Battle: Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo)

In 1876:
1. Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)
2. Alianza Intima Entre la Religin y la Buena Educacin
(Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good
Education)
3. Por la Educacin Recibe Lustre la Patria (Through
Education the Country Recieves Light)
4. El Cautiverio y el Triunfo: Batalla de Lucena y Prision
de Boabdil (The Captivity and the Triumph: Battle of
Lucena and the Imprisonment of Boabdil)
5. La Entrada Triunfal de los Reyes Catolices en Granada
(The Triumphal Entry of the Catholic Monarchs into
Granada)

In 1877:
1. El Heroismo de Coln (The Heroism of
Columbus)
2. Clon y Juan II (Columbus and John II)
3. Gran Consuelo en la Mayor Desdicha (Great
Solace in Great Misfortune)
4. Un Dilogo Alusivo la Despedida de los
Colegiales (A Farewell Dialogue of the
Students)

First Romance of Rizal

Segunda Katigbak
A pretty 14 yr old Batanguea from Lipa
She was rather short, with eyes that were
eloquent and ardent at times and languid at
others, rosy-cheeked, with an enchanting and
provocative smile that revealed very beautiful
teeth, and the air of a sylph; her entire self
diffused a mysterious charm.
La Concordia College
Close friend of Olimpia, sister of Rizal

It was indeed a love at first sight

But Segunda was already engaged to be
married to Manuel Luz.

 Rizal, for all his artistic and intellectual

prowess, was a shy and timid lover.
The Last Talk: one Thursday in December,
1877, Christmas vacation.
Well, good-bye. Anyway --- Ill see you when
you pass Calamba on your way to Lipa.
With his first romance ruined by his own
shyness and reserve