Chapter 5

Medical Studies at the

University of Santo Tomas
(1877-1882)
Jose Rizal himself was surprised why his
mother, who was a woman of education and
culture, should object to his desire for a
university education. Years later he wrote in
his journal: "Did my mother perhaps have a
foreboding of what would happen to me?
Does a mother's heart really have a second
sight?"
Fortunately, Rizal's tragic first romance, with its bitter
dis- illusionment, did not adversely affect his studies in
the University of Santo Tomas. After finishing the first
year of a course in Philosophy and Letters (1877-78), he
transferred to the medical course.
During the years of his medical studies in this
university which was administered by the
Dominicans, rival educators of the Jesuits, he
remained loyal to Ateneo, where he continued
to participate in extra-curricular activities and
where he com- pleted the vocation course in
surveying. As a Thomasian, he won more
literary laurels, had other romances with
pretty girls, and fought against Spanish
students who insulted the brown Filipino
students.
Mother's Opposition to Higher Education. After graduating
with the highest honors from the Ateneo, Rizal had to go to
the University of Santo Tomas for higher studies. The
Bachelor of Arts course during Spanish times was equivalent
only to the high school and junior college courses today. It
merely qualified its graduate to enter a university. Both Don
Francisco and Paciano wanted Jose to pursue higher learning
in the university.
But Doña Teodora, who knew what
happened to Gom-Bur-Za, vigorously
opposed the idea and told her husband:
"Don't send him to Manila again; he knows
enough. If he gets to know more, the
Spaniards will cut off his head." Don
Francisco kept quiet and told Paciano to
accompany his younger brother to Manila,
despite their mother's tears.
Rizal Enters the University. In April 1877, Rizal who was
then nearly 16 years old, matriculated in the University
of Santo Tomas, taking the course on Philosophy and
Letters. He enrolled in this course for two reasons: (1) his
father liked it and (2) he was "still uncertain as to what
career to pursue". He had written to Father Pablo
Ramon, Rector of the Ateneo, who had been good to him
during his student days in that college, asking for advice
on the choice of a career.
But the Father Rector was then in Mindanao
so that he was unable to advise Rizal. Con-
sequently, during his first-year term (1877-78)
in the University of Santo Tomas, Rizal studied
Cosmology, Metaphysics, Theod- icy, and
History of Philosophy.
It was during the following term (1878-79)
that Rizal, having received the Ateneo Rector's
advice to study medicine, took up the medical
course, enrolling simultaneously in the
preparatory medical course and the regular
first year medical course. Another reason why
he chose medicine for a career was to be able
to cure his mother's growing blindness.
Finishes Surveying Course in Ateneo (1878).
During his first school term in the University of
Santo Tomas (1877-78), Rizal also studied in the
Ateneo. He took the vocational course leading to
the title of perito agrimensor (expert surveyor). In
those days, it should be remembered, the colleges
for boys in Manila offered vocational courses in
agriculture, commerce, mechanics, and surveying.
Rizal, as usual, excelled in all subjects in the
surveying course in the Ateneo, obtaining gold
medals in agriculture and topography. At the age
of 17, he passed the final examination in the
surveying course, but he could not be granted
the title as surveyor because he was below age.
The title was issued to him on November 25,
1881.
Although Rizal was then a Thomasian, he frequently
visited the Ateneo. It was due not only to his
surveying course, but more because of his loyalty to
the Ateneo, where he had many beautiful memories
and Jesuit professors, unlike the Dominicans, loved
him and inspired him to ascend to greater heights of
knowledge.
He continued to participate actively in the
Ateneo's extra-curricular activities. He was
president of the Academy of Spanish Literature
and secretary of the Academy of Natural
Sciences. He also continued his membership in
the Marian Congregation, of which he was the
secretary.
Romances with Other Girls.
Notwithstanding his academic studies in
the University of Santo Tomas and extra-
curricular activities in the Ateneo, Rizal had
ample time for love. He was a romantic
dreamer who liked to sip the "nectar of
love". His sad experience with his first love
had made him wiser in the ways of
romance.
Shortly after losing Segunda Katigbak, he paid
court to a young woman in Calamba. In his student
memoirs, he called her simply "Miss L," describing
her as "fair with seductive and attractive eyes".2
After visiting her in her house several times, he
suddenly stopped his wooing, and the romance
died a natural death.
Nobody today knows who this woman was.
Rizal himself did not give her name. Hence,
her identity is lost to history. However, he
gave two reasons for his change of heart,
namely: (1) the sweet memory of Segunda
was still fresh in his heart and (2) his father
did not like the family of "Miss L".
Several months later, during his sophomore year at
the University of Santo Tomas, he boarded in the
house of Doña Concha Leyva in Intramuros. The
next-door neighbors of Doña Concha were Capitan
Juan and Capitana Sanday Valenzuela from
Pagsanjan, Laguna, who had a charming daughter
named Leonor.
Rizal, the medical student from Calamba, was a
welcome visitor in the Valenzuela home, where he
was the life of the social parties because of his
clever sleight-of-hand tricks.
He courted Leonor Valenzuela, who was a tall girl
with a regal bearing.3 He sent her love notes
written in invisible ink. This ink consisted of
common table salt and water. It left no trace on
the paper. Rizal, who knew his chemistry, taught
Orang (pet name of Leonor Valenzuela) the secret
of reading any note written in the invisible ink by
heating it over a candle or lamp so that the words
may appear. But, as with Segunda, he stopped
short of proposing marriage to Orang.
Rizal's next romance was with another Leonor - Leonor
Rivera - his cousin from Camiling. In 1879, at the start of
his junior year at the university, he lived in "Casa
Tomasina," at No. 6 Calle Santo Tomas, Intramuros. His
landlord-uncle, Antonio Rivera had a pretty daughter,
Leonor, a student at La Concordia College, where
Soledad (Rizal's youngest sister) was then studying.
Leonor, born in Camiling, Tarlac, on April 11, 1867, was a
frail, pretty girl "tender as a budding flower with kindly,
wistful eyes".
Between Jose and Leonor sprang a beautiful
romance. They became engaged. In her letters
to Rizal, Leonor signed her name as "Taimis," in
order to camouflage their intimate relationship
from their parents and friends.
Victim of Spanish Officer's Brutality. When Rizal was
a freshman medical student at the University of
Santo Tomas, he experienced his first taste of
Spanish brutality. One dark night in Calamba, during
the summer vacation in 1878, he was walking in the
street. He dimly perceived the figure of a man while
passing him.
Not knowing the person due to darkness, he did
not salute nor say a courteous "Good Evening".
The vague figure turned out to be a lieutenant of
the Guardia Civil. With a snarl, he turned upon
Rizal, whipped out his sword and brutally slashed
the latter on the back.
The wound was not serious, but it was painful.
When he recovered, Rizal reported the incident to
General Primo de Rivera, the Spanish governor
general of the Philippines at that time. But
nothing came out of his complaint, because he
was an Indio and the abusive lieutenant was a
Spaniard. Later, in a letter to Blumentritt, dated
March 21, 1887, he related: "I went to the
Captain-General but I could not obtain justice; my
wound lasted two weeks".4
The wound was not serious, but it was painful.
When he recovered, Rizal reported the incident to
General Primo de Rivera, the Spanish governor
general of the Philippines at that time. But
nothing came out of his complaint, because he
was an Indio and the abusive lieutenant was a
Spaniard. Later, in a letter to Blumentritt, dated
March 21, 1887, he related: "I went to the
Captain-General but I could not obtain justice; my
wound lasted two weeks".
The Board of Judges, composed of Spaniards, was
impressed by Rizal's poem and gave it the first
prize which consisted of a silver pen, feather-
shaped and decorated with a gold ribbon. Young
Rizal was happy to win the poetry contest. He was
sincerely congratulated by the Jesuits, especially
his former pro fessors at the Ateneo, and by his
friends and relatives.
The prize-winning poem, A La Juventud Filipina
(To the Filipino Youth), is an inspiring poem of
flawless form. In exquis ite verses, Rizal
beseeched the Filipino youth to rise from
lethargy, to let their genius fly swifter than the
wind and descend with art and science to
break the chains that have long bound the
spirit of the people. This poem is as follows:
TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH

Theme: "Grow, O Timid

Flower"

Hold high the brow serene,

O youth, where now you

stand. Of your grace be seen,
Fair hope of my fatherland!

Let the bright sheen

Come now, thou genius grand, And
bring down inspiration; With thy
mighty hand, Swifter than the winds
volation, Raise the eager mind to
higher station.

Come down with pleasing light Of art

and science to the flight, O youth,
and there untie The chains that heavy
lie, Your spirit free to bright.
See how in flaming zone Amid
the shadows thrown, The
Spaniard's holy hand A
crown's resplendent band
Proffers to this Indian land.

Thou, who now wouldst rise

On wings of rich emprise,
Seek from Olympian skies
Songs of sweetest strain,
Softer than ambrosial rain.
Thou, whose voice divine
Rivals Philomel's refrain, And
with varied line Through the
night benign Frees mortality
from pain.

Thou, who by sharp strife

Wakest thy mind to life; And
the memory bright Of thy
genius's light Makest
immortal in its strength.
And thou, in accents clear Of
Phoebus, to Apollos dear; Or
by the brush's magic art
Takest from nature's store a
part To fix it on the simple
canvas' length.
Go forth, and then the sacred fire

Of thy genius to the laurel may aspire;

To spread around the flame, And in

victory acclaim, Through wider
spheres the human name.
Day, O happy day, Fair
Filipinas, for thy land! So bless
the Power today That places
in thy way This favor and this
fortune grand.
This winning poem of Rizal is a classic in
Philippine literature for two reasons: First, it
was the first great poem in Spanish written
by a Filipino, whose merit was recognized by
Spanish literary authorities, and secondly, it
expressed for the first time the nationalistic
concept that the Filipinos, and not the
foreigners, were the "fair hope of the
Fatherland".
"The Council of the Gods" (1880). The following
year (1880) the Artistic-Literary Lyceum opened
another literary contest to commemorate the
fourth centennial of the death of Cervantes, Spain's
glorified man-of-letters and famous author of Don
Quix ote. This time the contest was opened to both
Filipinos and Spaniards.
Many writers participated in the contest-priests,
news.

papermen, scholars and professors. Rizal,

inspired by his poetical triumph the previous
year, entered the literacy joust, submitting an
allegorical drama entitled El Consejo de los
Dioses (The Council of the Gods).
The judges of the contest were all Spaniards.
After a long and critical appraisal of the entries,
they awarded the first prize to Rizal's work
because of its literary superiority over the
others." The Spanish community in Manila,
spear-headed by the Spanish press, howled in
great indignation against the decision because
the winning author was an Indio. Despite all
objections, the prize was awarded to Rizal, a
gold ring on which was engraved the bust of
Cervantes.
A Spanish writer, D.N. del Puzo, won the
second prize. For the first time in history,
an Indio - a nineteen-year old Filipino
medical student at that excelled in a
national literary contest, defeating several
Spanish writers of his time in Manila.8 Rizal
was particularly happy, for he proved the
fallacy of the alleged Spanish superiority
over the Filipinos and revealed that the
Filipino could hold his own in fair compet-
ition against all races.
The winning allegory of Rizal was a literary
masterpiece based on the Greek classics. In writing
it, Rizal, although a student of the University of
Santo Tomas, was aided by the kind Father Rector
of the Ateneo in securing the needed reference
materials. The allegory established a parallel
among Homer, Virgil, and Cervantes. The gods
discuss the comparative merits of these great
writers and finally decide to give the trumpet to
Homer, the lyre to Virgil, and the laurel to
Cervantes. The allegory gloriously closes with the
naiads, nymphs, satyrs, and other mythological
characters dancing and gathering laurels for
Cervantes.
Other Literary Works. Aside from the two prize-
winning works mentioned above, Rizal, although
studying medicine, produced other poems and a
zarzuela, this zarzuela was Junto al Pasig (Beside
the Pasig), which was staged by the Ateneans on
December 8, 1880, on the occasion of the annual
celebration of the Feast Day of the Immaculate
Conception, Patroness of the Ateneo. He wrote it
as President of the Academy of Spanish Literature
in the Ateneo.
As a piece of literature Junto al Pasig is
mediocre. But there are passages in it
which express in subtle satire the author's
nationalist ideas. For instance, Rizal makes
Satan say that the Philippines -

"Now without comfort,

Sadly groans in the power of a foreign

people,

And slowly dies In the impious clutch of

Spain."
In the same year (1880), he wrote a sonnet entitled A
Filipinas for the album of the Society of Sculptors. In this
sonnet, he urged all Filipino artists to glorify the
Philippines.

The year before, in 1879, he composed a poem entitled

Abd-el-Azis y Mahoma, which was declaimed by an
Atenean, Manuel Fernandez, on the night of December
8, 1879 in honor of the Ateneo's Patroness.

Later, in 1881, he composed a poem entitled Al M.R.P.

Pablo Ramon. He wrote this poem as an expression of
affection to Father Pablo Ramon, the Ateneo rector, who
had been so kind and helpful to him.
Rizal's Visit to Pakil and Pagsanjan. In the
summer month of May, 1881, when he was
still a medical student at the University of
Santo Tomas, Rizal went on a pilgrimage to
the town of Pakil, famous shrine of the Birhen
Maria de los Dolores." He was accompanied
by his sisters-Saturnina, Maria, and Trinidad
and their female friends. They took a casco
(flat-bottom sailing vessel) from Calamba to
Pakil, Laguna, and stayed at the home of Mrs.
and Mrs. Manuel Regalado, whose son
Nicolas was Rizal's friend in Manila.
Rizal and his companions were fascinated by the
famous turumba, the people dancing in the streets
during the procession in honor of the miraculous
Birhen Maria de los Dolores. As they danced, the
dancers sang:

Turumba, Turumba, Mariangga Matuwa tayo't

masaya Sumayaw ng turumba Puri sa Birhen Maria
In Pakil Rizal was infatuated by a pretty girl
colegiala, Vicenta Ybardolaza, who skillfully played
the harp at the Regalado home. From Pakil, Rizal
and his party made a side trip to the neighboring
town of Pagsanjan for two reasons-it was the
native town of Leonor Valenzuela, one of Rizal's
friends in Manila, and to see the world famed
Pagsanjan Falls, girl
Years later Rizal mentioned the Turumba in
Chapter VI of Noli Me Tangere and Pagsanjan
Falls in his travel diary (United States-
Saturday, May 12, 1888), where he said that
Niagara Falls was the "greatest cascades I ever
saw" but "not so beautiful nor fine as the falls
at Los Baños, (sic) Pagsanjan".
Champion of Filipino Students. Rizal was the
champion of the Filipino students in their
frequent fights against the arrogant Spanish
students, who were often surpassed by the
Filipinos in class work and who insultingly
called their brown classmates - "Indio,
chongo!" In retaliation, the Filipino students
called them "Kastila, bangus!" Hostility
between these two groups of students often
exploded in angry street rumbles.
Champion of Filipino Students. Rizal was the
champion of the Filipino students in their
frequent fights against the arrogant Spanish
students, who were often surpassed by the
Filipinos in class work and who insultingly
called their brown classmates - "Indio,
chongo!" In retaliation, the Filipino students
called them "Kastila, bangus!" Hostility
between these two groups of students often
exploded in angry street rumbles.
Rizal participated in these student brawls. Owing to his
skill in fencing, his prowess in wrestling, and his
indomitable courage, he distinguished himself in these
student skirmishes. In 1880 he founded a secret society
of Filipino students in the University of Santo Tomas
called Compañerismo (Comradeship), whose members
were called "Companions of Jehu," after the valiant
Hebrew general who fought the Armaeans and ruled the
King- dom of Israel for 28 years (843-816 B.C.). He was
the chief of this secret student society, with his cousin
from Batangas, Galicano Apacible, as secretary. As chief,
he led the Filipino students into combat against the
Spanish students in various street fights.
In one of the fierce encounters between the
Filipino students and their pale-skinned
detractors near the Escolta in Manila, Rizal was
wounded on the head. His friends brought him
bleeding and covered with dust to his boarding
house, "Casa Tomasina". Leonor Rivera tenderly
washed and dressed his wound.
Unhappy Days at the UST. Rizal, Ateneo's boy
wonder, found the atmosphere at the
University of Santo Tomas suffocat- ing to his
sensitive spirit. He was unhappy at this
Dominican institution of higher learning
because (1) the Dominican profes- sors were
hostile to him, (2) the Filipino students were
racially discriminated against by the Spaniards,
and (3) the method of instruction was obsolete
and repressive.
In his novel, El Filibusterismo, he described how the
Filipino students were humiliated and insulted by
their Dominican pro- fessors and how backward the
method of instruction was, espe- cially in the
teaching of the natural sciences. He related in
Chapter XIII, "The Class in Physics," that his science
subject was taught without laboratory
experiments. The microscope and other laboratory
apparatuses were kept inside the showcases to be
seen by visitors, but the students could not even
touch them.
Because of the unfriendly attitude of his
professors, Rizal, the most brilliant graduate of
the Ateneo, failed to win high scholastic honors.
Although his grades in the first year of the
philosophy course were all "excellent," they were
not impressive in the four years of his medical
course. His scholastic records in the University of
Santo Tomas (1879-82) were as follows:10
 1877-78 (Philosophy & Letters)

CoMetaphysic.................Excellentc
Theodicy.........................Excellent
History of Philosophy.......Excellent

1878-1879 (Medicine) - 1st Year

Physics.............Fair
Chemistry........ Excellent
Natural History.....Good
Anatomy 1......Good
Dissection 1....Good
1879-1880 (Medicine) - 2nd Year

Anatomy 2......Good
Dissection 2......Good
Physiology......Good
Private Hygiene.......Good
Public Hygiene....Good
1880-1881 (Medicine) -3rd Year

General Pathology .........Fair

Therapeutics ..... Excellent
Surgery......Good

1881-1882 (Medicine) -4th Year

Medical Pathology........Very Good

Surgical Pathology....Very Good
Obstetrics.......Very Good
Decision to Study Abroad. After finishing the
fourth year of his medical course, Rizal
decided to study in Spain. He could no longer
endure the rampant bigotry, discrimination,
and hos- tility in the University of Santo
Tomas. His older brother readily approved his
going to Spain and so did his two sisters
Saturnina (Neneng) and Lucia, Uncle Antonio
Rivera, the Valenzuela family, and some
friends.
For the first time, Rizal did not seek his parents'
permission and blessings to go abroad, because
he knew that they, especially his mother, would
disapprove it. He did not bring his beloved Leonor
into his confidence either. He had enough
common sense to know that Leonor, being a
woman, young and romantic at that, could not
keep a secret. Thus Rizal's parents, Leonor, and
the Spanish authorities knew nothing of his
decision to go abroad in order to finish his medical
studies in Spain, where the profes- sors were
more liberal than those of the University of Santo
Tomas.