PHILIPPINE INSTITUTIONS 100 – 100 – Ang Ang Buhay at mga Akda ni Jose Rizal Prof. Wilfreda P. Jorge-Legaspi PI 100 X2-D GINES, Kimberly A. 2011-47993 BS Chemical Engineering
NOLI ME TANGERE TANGERE : Isang pagsusuri
1. Basahin, unawain at suriin ang sipi mula sa liham ni Rizal kay Blumentritt. Tukuyin at ipaliwanag ang layunin ni Rizal sa pagsulat ng nobelang Noli Me Tangere : “Inalisan ko ko ng takip sa mukha ang pagbabanal-banalan, na sa pamamagitan ng relihiyong ginagawang kanlungan ay nagpahirap at napalagay sa aming parang mga hayop. Sinikap kong ipakilala ang pagkakaiba ng tunay sa di-tunay na relihiyon. Itong huli — — ang ang di tunay na relihiyon ay nagpapausbong ng pamahiin at gumagamit ng mga banal na salita upang maakit ang aming mga salapi, upang mapapaniwala kami sa mga bagay na di maaaring matanggap ng Relihiyong Katoliko kailanman aabot sa kanyang kaalaman.”
Mula sa liham ni Rizal sa kanyang matalik na kaibigang si Ferdinand Blumentritt ay makikita ang dahilan kung bakit isinulat ni Rizal ang kanyang nobelang Noli nobelang Noli Me Tangere. Tangere. Marahil isinulat ito ni Rizal kay Blumentritt upang bigyan siya ng pangkalahatang-ideya sa kung ano ang lalamanin ng kanyang nobela.
Sa siping ito, sinabi ni Rizal na ang kanyang pagsulat ng Noli ng Noli ay isang pagbunyag, pagsiwalat at paglantad ng katotohanan ukol sa kaugalian, paniniwala at pagpapalakad sa relihiyon ng mga taong kabilang dito at sa mga taong sumusunod sa relihiyong ito, lalung-lalo na sa Relihiyong Katoliko na siyang pinapairal sa ating bansa noong panahong iyon. Ating mahihinuha mula sa sipi na ang ibubulgar ni Rizal gamit ang kanyang nobela ay mga pangyayari at gawaing di kanais-nais at tunay na mali lalo na sa mata mismo ng mga tunay na mananampalataya ng Relihiyong Katoliko. Gamit ang pangunahing layon na ito nagkaroon ng tatlong importanteng layunin si Rizal sa kanyang pagsulat ng Noli Me Tangere Tangere na siyang ring kanyang sinabi kay Blumentritt.
Una, mula sa unang linya, sinasabi muna ni Rizal ang pangunahing silbi ng relihiyon sa mga tao — ang ang maging isang kanlungan o isang gabay at kublihan tungo sa kaligtasang panghabambuhay. Itinanim ng mga Kastila sa isipan ng mga Pilipino na ang paggawa ng mali ay
katumbas ng pagpaparusa sa impierno sa kanyang pagkamatay. Naging daan din ito upang tanggapin ng mga Pilipino ang Katolisismo. “…na sa pamamagitan ng relihiyong ginagawang kanlungan ay nagpahirap at nagpalagay sa aming parang mga hayop.”
Ang pangalawang bahagi ng unang linya ay nagsasaad na mula sa mabuting intensiyon at mithiin ay ginamit ito ng mga mananakop, lalung-lalo na ng mga prayle, upang mapasunod ang mga Pilipino sa lahat ng kanilang sinasabi at inuutos. Ang mga Pilipino nama‘y sumusunod at naniniwala dahil takot silang maparusahan at mapunta sa impierno. Sa paraang ito, tila naging mga hayop ang mga Pilipino — inuutusan, sunud-sunuran at naghirap. Gamit ang nobelang ito, layunin ni Rizal na ilantad ang katotohanang ito, na ang banal na relihiyon ay ginagamit hindi lamang para alipinin ang mga Pilipino pati na rin ang pagpapayaman ng mga taong gumagawa nito.
Pangalawa, makikita mula sa pangalawang linya ng sipi na may dalawang uri ng relihiyon: ang tunay at di-tunay. Sinabi dito ni Rizal na nagkaroon ang mga Pilipino ng maling pananaw tungkol sa relihiyon. Nililinaw ni Rizal na mayroong tunay na relihiyon at hindi ito ang relihiyong mayroon ang mga Pilipino sa panahong iyon. Ang isa pang layunin ni Rizal ay ipakita kung ano nga ba ang ibig sabihin ng isang tunay na relihiyon at ano rin ang mga katangian ng isang di-tunay na relihiyon. “Sinikap kong ipakilala ang pagkakaiba ng tunay sa di-tunay na relihiyon. ”
Panghuli, ating mapagtatanto mula sa huling linya ang epekto ng paggamit sa relihiyon sa paraang ipinahiwatig ng mga naunang linya. Mula sa di-tunay na relihiyon ay nakaranas ng pang-aapi ang mga Pilipino, nanakawan tayo ng salapi dahil sa mga ibinibigay sa simbahan, nagkaroon ng bulag na pananampalataya, at naniwala sa mga bagay na hindi naman talaga totoo at hindi banal. Layunin ni Rizal na ilantad ang mga pangyayaring ito gamit ang kanyang mga tauhan upang mamulat ang kanyang mga kababayan sa kamaliang patuloy na lumalaganap sa bansa. “ Itong huli — ang di tunay na relihiyon ay nagpapausbong ng pamahiin at gumagamit ng mga banal na salita upang maakit ang aming mga salapi, upang mapapaniwala kami sa mga bagay na di maaaring matanggap ng Relihiyong Katoliko kailanman aabot sa kanyang kaalaman.”
Mula sa mga layunin ni Rizal galing sa sipi ng kanyang liham kay Blumentritt, ating mahihinuha na ang mga nakasaad sa nobela ay pawag katotohanan. Ang mga tauhan ma‘y sariling likha ni Rizal ngunit ang kanilang mga pinagdaanan ay nangyari sa totoong buhay at nakita o narinig ni Rizal. Hindi basta-bastang paglalantad ang nais gawin ni Rizal gamit ang Noli kundi kamulatan ng kanyang mga kababayan dahil ayon nga sa kanyang paniniwala, ang karunungan ang magpapalaya sa bayan. Nais niyang makatulong ang Noli upang tuluyang mabuksan ang mga mata ng mga Pilipinong nananatiling tahimik, nagbubulag-bulagan, duwag at walang pakialam sa mga nangyayari sa kanyang bansa.
2. Sumipi ng mga kaisipan/ideolohiya (mula sa dialogue o narration) mula sa iba’t ibang kabanata ng nobela. Uriin ito at ipaliwanag ayon sa kaisipang: Pulitikal Sosyal at Panlipunan Kultural at Panrelihiyon
A. Pulitikal Chapter III: The Dinner Fray Sibyla was about to seat himself without paying any more attention to these protests when his eyes happened to encounter those of the lieutenant. According to clerical opinion in the Philippines, the highest secular official is inferior to a friar-cook: cedant arma togae, said Cicero in the Senate — cedant arma cottae, say the friars in the Philippines.
Mula sa bahagi ng nobelang ito, ating makikita na sa kabila ng napakalaking impluwensiya ng simabahan sa pamumuno sa Pilipinas, ang gobyerno pa rin ang nasa pinakamataas na antas ng buhay. Marahil ipinakita rin dito ni Rizal na may mga prayle na ginagalang ang kapangyarihan ng gobyerno at sa labas ng simbahan ay hindi na sila dapat maghari-harian. Chapter III: The Dinner ―Frankly, I like everything in those people, setting aside the national pride of each one. But before visiting a country, I tried to familiarize myself with its history, its Exodus, if I may so speak, and afterwards I found everything quite natural. I have observed that the prosperity or misery of each people is in direct proportion to its liberties or its prejudices and, accordingly, to the sacrifices or the selfishness of its forefathers.‖ – Crisostomo Ibarra
Sa siping ito makikita na sinasabi ni Rizal na ang pamahalaan at ang mga namumuno ay isa sa mga makakapagpaunlad sa isang bansa. Kung bulok ang sistema ng pamahalaan ay hindi uunlad ang bansa at lahat ay mahihirapan. Mas lalong lalaki ang agwat ng mga mayayaman at
mahihirap. Sinasabi rin dito na ang kasiyahan at kalungkutang ng mga mamayan ay apektado ng mga nangyari sa nakaraan at sa mga taong gumalaw bago sila. Chapter IV: A Star in the Dark Night ―As was to be expected, the authorities intervened and arrested your father. All his hidden enemies at once rose up and false accusations came from all sides. He was accused of being a heretic and a filibuster. To be a heretic is a great danger anywhere, but especially so at that time when the province was governed by an alcalde who made a great show of his piety, who with his servants used to recite his rosary in the church in a loud voice, perhaps that all might hear and pray with him. But to be a filibuster is worse than to be a heretic and to kill three or four tax-collectors who know how to read, write, and attend to business. Every one abandoned him, and his books and papers were seized. He was accused of subscribing to El Correo de Ultramar, and to newspapers from Madrid, of having sent you to Germany, of having in his possession letters and a photograph of a priest who had been legally executed, and I don‘t know what not. Everything served as an accusation, even the fact that he, a descendant of Peninsulars, wore a camisa. Had it been any one but your father, it is likely that he would soon have been set free, as there was a physician who ascribed the death of the unfortunate collector to a hemorrhage. But his wealth, his confidence in the law, and his hatred of everything that was not legal and just, wrought his undoing. In spite of my repugnance to asking for mercy from any one, I applied personally to the Captain-General — the predecessor of our present one — and urged upon him that there could not be anything of the filibuster about a man who took up with all the Spaniards, even the poor emigrants, and gave them food and shelter, and in whose veins yet flowed the generous blood of Spain. It was in vain that I pledged my life and swore b y my poverty and my military honor. I succeeded only in being coldly listened to and roughly sent away with the epithet of chiflado.‖ – Teniente Guevarra
Sa kaganapang ito ipinapakita ang kawalan ng hustisya noong panahon ng Kastila. Hindi lamang kawalan ng hustisya dahil sa kakulangan ng pagsuri sa kaso kundi ang pagbibigay halaga sa lahi. Makikita sa pangyayari sa buhay ni Don Rafael na kahit siya‘y mayaman at may impluwensiya, dahil ang nakabangga niya ay isang Kastila, hindi na binigyang halaga ang mga depensa niya kahit pa ito‘y totoo at tama. Dito makikita ang bulok na sistema ng mga Kastila noong sila‘y namumuno sa atin. Mas mahalaga sa kanila ang sarili nilang lahi.
Makikita rin dito ang impluwensiya ng simbahan. Ginagalang ng pamahalaan ang payo ng mga prayle kaya nama‘y mas lalong lumala ang mga kaso kay Don Rafael. Makikitang pinag-isahan siya at halos hindi na pinagdepensa. Chapter XXV: In the House of the Sage ―The government! The government!‖ muttered the Sage, raising his eyes to stare at the ceiling. ―However inspired it may be with the desire for fostering the greatness of the country for the benefit of the country itself and of the mother country, however some official or other may recall the generous spirit of the Catholic Kings and may agree with it, too, the government sees nothing, hears nothing, nor does it decide anything, except what the curate or the Provincial causes it to see, hear, and decide. The government is convinced that it depends for its salvation wholly on them, that it is sustained because they uphold it, and that the day on which they cease to support it, it will fall like a manikin that has lost its prop. They intimidate the government with an uprising of the people and the people with the forces of the government, whence originates a simple game, very much like what happens to timid persons when they visit gloomy places, taking for ghosts their
own shadows and for strange voices the echoes of their own. As long as the government does not deal directly with the country it will not get away from this tutelage, it will live like those imbecile youths who tremble at the voice of their tutor, whose kindness they are begging for. The government has no dream of a healthy future; it is the arm, while the head is the convento. By this inertia with which it allows itself to be dragged from depth to depth, it becomes changed into a shadow, its integrity is impaired, and in a weak and incapable way it trusts everything to mercenary hands. But compare our system of government with those of the countries you have visited —‖ – Pilosofo Tasio
Isinasaad dito na ang kagustuhan ng pamahalaan na mapabuti at mapaunlad ang kanyang nasasakupan ay mangyayari lamang kung kikilalannin niya ang bayang kanyang pinamumunuan at kung gagawin niya ang sa tingin ay tama at wasto para sa ikabubuti ng lahat at hindi lamang base sa payo ng mga prayle. Sinasabi rin dito na dapat ay walang pandaraya at katiwalian dahil mga hadlang ito sa pag-unlad ng bansa. Chapter XXXVII: His Excellency ―You flatter me by thinking so, and— so it ought to be. Nevertheless, young man, you must know what burdens weigh upon our shoulders here in the Philippines. Here we, old soldiers, have to do and to be everything: King, Minister of State, of War, of Justice, of Finance, of Agriculture, and of all the rest. The worst part of it too is that in every matter we have to consult the distant mother country, which accepts or rejects our proposals according to circumstances there — and at times blindly. As we Spaniards say, ‗He who attempts many things succeeds in none.‘ Besides, we generally come here knowing little about the country and leave it when we begin to get acquainted with it. With you I can be frank, for it would be useless to try to be otherwise. Even in Spain, where each department has its own minister, born and reared in the locality, where there are a press and a public opinion, where the opposition frankly opens the eyes of the government and keeps it informed, everything moves along imperfectly and defectively; thus it is a miracle that here things are not completely topsyturvy in the lack of these safeguards, and having to live and work under the shadow of a most powerful opposition. Good intentions are not lacking to us, the governing powers, but we find ourselves obliged to avail ourselves of the eyes and arms of others whom ordinarily we do not know and who perhaps, instead of serving their country, serve only their own private interests. This is not our fault but the fault of circumstances — the friars aid us not a little in getting along, but they are not sufficient. You have aroused my interest and it is my desire that the imperfections of our present system of government be of no hindrance to you. I cannot look after everybody nor can everybody come to me. Can I be of service to you in any way? Have you no request to make?‖ – Kapitan Heneral
Ang mga salitang ito ng Kapitan-Heneral ay nagpapakita ng pag-amin sa sariling kamalian at ang pagnanais na baguhin ito. Ipinapakita rito na ang gobyerno ay walang ibang gusto kundi mapabuti ang kalagayan ng kanyang mga pinamumunuan ngunit hindi nila kayang gawin ang bagay na iyon mag-isa. Mahihinuha rito na hindi madaling mamuno ng isang bansa at kailangangn nagtutulungan ang mga kasama sa gobyerno. Dito rin inilahad ni Rizal ang katangian ng isang mabuting pinuno. Ang mabuting pinuno ay may pagmamahal at pagmamalasakit sa kanyang mga sakop. Ang mabuting pinuno ay marunong
makinig sa payo at hinain ng ibang tao. Ang mabuting pinuno ay marunong umamin ng kanyang kamalian. Ang pagiging isang mabuting pinuno ay mahirap gampanan.
B. Sosyal at Panlipunan Chapter I: A Social Gathering Gladly, and for my own comfort, I should spare you this description of the house, were it not of great importance, since we mortals in general are very much like tortoises: we are esteemed and classified according to our shells; in this and still other respects the mortals of the Philippines in particular also resemble tortoises.
Sa talatang ito ating makikita na ang mga tao ay pinag-uuri o binubukod sa iba‘t ibang antas ng lipunan. Kadalasa‘y nalalagay ang mga tao sa isang social class na ayon sa ating panlabas at pisikal na anyo. Inihahambing ang mga Pilipino sa mga tortoise dahil ang pagkakakilanlan ng mga ito ay ayon sa kanilang mga punlo o shell . Makikita nating sa lipunan ay maraming taong nagpapanggap gamit ang kanilang damit, kolorete, sapatos at iba pa. Tayo rin ay mapanuri sa ating nakikita sa pisikal na katauhan ng ating mga kapwatao. Chapter I: A Social Gathering ―Ah, pardon me for interrupting you,‖ said the young man, lowering his voice and drawing his chair a little closer, ―but you have said something that awakens all my interest. Does this indolence actually, naturally, exist among the natives or is there some truth in what a foreign traveler says: that with this indolence we excuse our own, as well as our backwardness and our colonial system. He referred to other colonies whose inhabitants belong to the same race —‖— Young man who is a guest of Kapitan Tiago ―Bah, jealousy! Ask Señor Laruja, who also knows this country. Ask him if there is any equal to the ignorance and indolence of the Indian.‖ – Padre Damaso
Tinatalakay din ng nobela ang katamaran ng mga Pilipino na siyang ring ginawan ng sanaysay ni Rizal. Dito, makikita na nagpalitan ng ideya sina Padre Damaso at isa pang panauhin ni Kapitan Tiago. Sinasabi lamang dito na ang katamaran ng Pilipino ay iba sa katamarang sinasabi ng mga Kastila. Ito ay isang paksa na susuriin pa ni Rizal sa isa pa niyang sanaysay. Sa nobela, pahapyaw na tinalakay ni Rizal ang katamaran ng Pilipino at binigyang diin niya ang mga saloobin ng mga Kastila kaysa doon sa Pilipino. Chapter XVI: Sisa Through the dark night the villagers slept. The families who had remembered their dead gave themselves up to quiet and satisfied sleep, for they had recited their requiems, the novena of the souls, and had burned many wax tapers before the sacred images. The rich and powerful had discharged the duties their positions imposed upon them. On the following day they would hear three masses said by each priest and would give two pesos for another, besides buying a bull of indulgences for the dead. Truly, divine justice is not nearly so exacting as human.
But the poor and indigent who earn scarcely enough to keep themselves alive and who also have to pay tribute to the petty officials, clerks, and soldiers, that they may be allowed to live in peace, sleep not so tranquilly as gentle poets who have perhaps not felt the pinches of want would have us believe. The poor are sad and thoughtful, for on that night, if they have not recited many prayers, yet they have prayed much — with pain in their eyes and tears in their hearts.
Sa mga talatang ito ipinapakita ang napakalaking agwat sa pagitan ng mga mayayaman at mga mahihirap. Nilalarawan dito ang ugali ng mga pamilyang maykaya pati na rin ang mga pamilyang kapos. Sinasabi rito na kaakibat ng pagiging kapos-palad ay ang tila hindi pagtugon ng Maykapal sa kanilang mga dasal at hiling kahit na sila‘y mas madamdaming magdasal. Chapter XVII: Basilio ―Listen, mother, to what I‘ve been thinking about. Today there arrived from Spain the son of the dead Don Rafael, and he will be a good man like his father. Well now, mother, tomorrow you will get Crispin, collect my wages, and say that I will not be a sacristan any longer. As soon as I get well I‘ll go to see Don Crisostomo and ask him to hire me as a herdsman of his cattle and carabaos —I‘m now big enough. Crispin can study with old Tasio, who does not whip and who is a good man, even if the curate does not believe so. What have we to fear now from the padre? Can he make us any poorer than we are? You may believe it, mother, the old man is good. I‘ve seen him often in the church when no one else was about, kneeling and praying, believe it. So, mother, I‘ll stop being a sacristan. I earn but little and that little is taken away from me in fines. Every one complains of the same thing. I‘ll be a herdsman and by performing my tasks carefully I‘ll make my employer like me. Perhaps he‘ll let us milk a cow so that we can drink milk— Crispin likes milk so much. Who can tell! Maybe they‘ll give us a little calf if they see that I behave well and we‘ll take care of it and fatten it like our hen. I‘ll pick fruits in the woods and sell them in the town along with the vegetables from our garden, so we‘ll have money. I‘ll set snares and traps to catch birds and wild cats, I‘ll fish in the river, and when I‘m bigger, I‘ll hunt. I‘ll be able also to cut firewood to sell or to present to the owner of the cows, and so he‘ll be satisfied with us. When I‘m able to plow, I‘ll ask him to let me have a piece of land to plant in sugar -cane or corn and you won‘t have to sew until midnight. We‘ll have new clothes for every fiesta, we‘ll eat meat and big fish, we‘ll live free, seeing each other every day and eating together. Old Tasio says that Crispin has a good head and so we‘ll send him to Manila to study. I‘ll support him by working hard. Isn‘t that fine, mother? Perhaps he‘ll be a doctor, what do you say?‖ – Basilio
Makikita rito sa mga salitang binanggit ni Basilio na ang paghahangad ng mga Pilipino upang umunlad ay isang mithiing tumatagingting sa kanilang mga damdamin. Ipinapakita rito ang nais ni Rizal na gawin ng mga kabataang Pilipino — na mag-aral, mag-unawa at matuto upang maahon ang sarili at ang bayan. Sa bahaging ito nasisimbulo ang mga kabataang nagnanais makapag-aral upang makagawa ng mga makabuluhang bagay. Chapter XIX: A Schoolmaster’s Difficulties ―A poor teacher struggles not only against prejudices but also against c ertain influences. First, it would be necessary to have a suitable place and not to do as I must at present — hold the classes under the convento by the side of the padre‘s carriage. There the children, who like to read aloud, very naturally disturb the padre, and he often comes down, nervous, especially when he has his attacks, yells at them, and even insults me at times. You know that no one can either teach or learn under such circumstances, for the child will not respect his teacher when he sees him abused
without standing up for his rights. In order to be heeded and to maintain his authority the teacher needs prestige, reputation, moral strength, and some freedom of action. ‖ – Schoolmaster
Ipinapakita rito ang maling pagpapatakbo ng edukasyon sa bansa. Dito isinulat ni Rizal ang mga pang-aapi ng mga gurong padre tulad ng paninigaw, pamamalo at pamamahiya. Naniniwala si Rizal na ang pagtuturo gamit ng paraan na ito ay hindi magbubunga ng karunungan kundi pagkayamot at abuso. Sinasabi rin dito na ang isang batang inaabuso ay lalaban at hindi na magbibigay respeto sa kanyang guro. Dapat maging mabuting halimbawa ang mga guro.
C. Kultural at Panrelihiyon Chapter I: A Social Gathering Like an electric shock the announcement ran through the world of parasites, bores, and hangerson, whom God in His infinite bounty creates and so kindly multiplies in Manila. Some looked at once for shoe-polish, others for buttons and cravats, but all were especially concerned about how to greet the master of the house in the most familiar tone, in order to create an atmosphere of ancient friendship or, if occasion should arise, to excuse a late arrival.
Sa talatang ito makikita ang ugali ng mga Pilipinong mahilig dumalo at pumunta sa mga pista. Inilalahad din dito na ang mga Pili pino ay pumupunta sa mga piging kahit sila‘y hindi naman imbitado. Aabot pa sa pagpapanggap at pakikipagkapwa-tao upang masabing magkalapit siya sa nagdadaos ng piging. Chapter VI: Capitan Tiago In the sala of Capitan Tiago‘s house, that door, hidden by a silk curtain leads to a small chapel or oratory such as must be lacking in no Filipino home. There were placed his household gods — and we say ―gods‖ because he was inclined to polytheism rather than to monotheism, which he had never come to understand. There could be seen images of the Holy Family with busts and extremities of ivory, glass eyes, long eyelashes, and curly blond hair — masterpieces of Santa Cruz sculpture. Paintings in oil by artists of Paco and Ermita represented martyrdoms of saints and miracles of the Virgin; St. Lucy gazing at the sky and carrying in a plate an extra pair of eyes with lashes and eyebrows, such as are seen painted in the triangle of the Trinity or on Egyptian tombs; St. Pascual Bailon; St. Anthony of Padua in a guingón habit looking with tears upon a Christ Child dressed as a Captain-General with the three-cornered hat, sword, and boots, as in the children‘s ball at Madrid that character is represented— which signified for Capitan Tiago that while God might include in His omnipotence the power of a Captain-General of the Philippines, the Franciscans would nevertheless play with Him as with a doll. There, might also be seen a St. Anthony the Abbot with a hog by his side, a hog that for the worthy Capitan was as miraculous as the saint himself, for which reason he never dared to refer to it as the hog, but as the creature of holy St. Anthony; a St. Francis of Assisi in a coffee-colored robe and with seven wings, placed over a St. Vincent who had only two but in compensation carried a trumpet; a St. Peter the Martyr with his head split open by the talibon of an evil-doer and held fast by a kneeling infidel, side by side with another St. Peter cutting off the ear of a Moro, Malchus3 no doubt, who was gnawing his lips and writhing with pain, while a fighting-cock on a doric column crowed and flapped his wings — from all of which Capitan Tiago deduced that in order to be a saint it was just as well to smite as to be smitten.
Isa sa mga kaugaliang Pilipino ay ang pagkakaroon ng altar sa tahanan na pinaglalagyan ng mga santo, larawan ni Hesus, rosaryo, krus, at iba pa. Ito ang pinapahiwatig ng talatang ito sa pamamagitan ng altar ni Capitan Tiago na sobrang daming laman ng altar at masasabing halos polytheistic na siya. Ipinapakita rin dito ang kagustuhan ng mga Pilipinong matupad ang kanilang mga hiling kaya nama‘y kung mas maraming imahe, mas malaki ang posibilidad na matutupad ang mga ito. Chapter XVIII: Souls in Torrent ―He didn‘t go into the confessional this morning,‖ added Sister Sipa, a toothless old woman. ―I wanted to confess myself so as to receive communion and get the indulgences.‖ ―Well, I‘m sorry for you,‖ commented a young woman with a frank face. ―This week I earned three plenary indulgences and dedicated them to the soul of my husband.‖ ―Badly done, Sister Juana,‖ said the offended Rufa. ―One plenary indulgence was enough to get him out of purgatory. You ought not to squander the holy indulgences. Do as I do.‖ ―I thought, so many more the better,‖ answered the simple Sister Juana, smiling. ―But tell me what you do.‖ Sister Rufa did not answer at once. First, she asked for a buyo and chewed at it, gazed at her audience, which was listening attentively, then spat to one side and commenced, chewing at the buyo meanwhile: ―I don‘t misspend one holy day! Since I‘ve belonged to the Sisterhood I‘ve earned four hundred and fifty-seven plenary indulgences, seven hundred sixty thousand five hundred and ninety-eight years of indulgence. I set down all that I earn, for I like to have clean accounts. I don‘t want to cheat or be cheated.‖ Here Sister Rufa paused to give more attention to her chewing. The women gazed at her in admiration, but the man who was pacing back and forth remarked with some disdain, ―Well, this year I‘ve gained four plenary indulgences more than you have, Sister Rufa, and a hundred years more, and that without praying much either.‖ ―More than I? More than six hundred and eighty-nine plenary indulgences or nine hundred ninetyfour thousand eight hundred and fifty-six years?‖ queried Rufa, somewhat disgruntled. ―That‘s it, eight indulgences and a hundred fifteen years more and a few months over,‖ answered the man, from whose neck hung soiled scapularies and rosaries. ―That‘s not strange!‖ admitted Rufa, at last admitting defeat. ―You‘re an expert, the best in the province.‖ The flattered man smiled and continued, ―It isn‘t so wonderful that I earn more than you do. Why, I can almost say that even when sleeping I earn indulgences.‖ – Sister Rufa, Sister Juana at Sister Sipa
Ipinapakita sa palitang-salitang ito ang di-tunay na pananampalataya. Inilahad dito ang kaugaliang Pilipino na inaasa na lamang sa pera at dasal ang mga mithiin. Hindi na gumagawa
ng mga mabubuting asal at hindi na nagsisipag sa gawain. Isa ito sa mga maling gawain na naituro ng mga Kastila sa atin. Chapter XIV: Tasio: Lunatic or Sage ―Very well! But yet I must answer that some knew of it and as existing in actu. One of these was Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, who wrote part of the Zend-Avesta and founded a religion which in some points resembles ours, and Zarathustra, according to the scholars, flourished at least eight hundred years befor e Christ. I say ‗at least,‘ since Gaffarel, after examining the testimony of Plato, Xanthus of Lydia, Pliny, Hermippus, and Eudoxus, believes it to have been two thousand five hundred years before our era. However that may be, it is certain that Zarathustra talked of a kind of purgatory and showed ways of getting free from it. The living could redeem the souls of those who died in sin by reciting passages from the Avesta and by doing good works, but under the condition that the person offering the petitions should be a relative, up to the fourth generation. The time for this occurred every year and lasted five days. Later, when this belief had become fixed among the people, the priests of that religion saw in it a chance of profit and so they exploited ‗the deep and dark prison where remorse reigns,‘ as Zarathustra called it. They declared that by the payment of a small coin it was possible to save a soul from a year of torture, but as in that religion there were sins punishable by three hundred to a thousand years of suffering, such as lying, faithlessness, failure to keep one‘s word, and so on, it resulted that the rascals t ook in countless sums. Here you will observe something like our purgatory, if you take into account the differences in the religions.‖ – Tandang Tasio
Naniniwala ang mga Katolikong Pilipino sa konsepto ng Purgatoryo. Mula sa mga salitang ito ni Tandang Tasio, inilantad ni Rizal ang bulag na pagsunod sa mga utos ng simbahan. Sinasabi ritong ginagamit rin ang relihiyon upang mangurakot at mandaya ng mga tao gamit ang indulhensiya.
Chapter XIV: Tasio: Lunatic or Sage ―A pure and simple faith is as distinct from fanaticism as the flame from smoke or music from discords: only the fools and the deaf confuse them. Between ourselves we can say that the idea of purgatory is good, holy, and rational. It perpetuates the union of those who were and those who are, leading thus to greater purity of life. The evil is in its abuse.‖ – Tandang Tasio
Binibigyang diin din ni Rizal ang fanaticism at ang tunay na pananampalataya. Sinasabi ritong ang hangal lamang ang hindi makakapagsabi kung ano ang pinagkaiba ng apoy sa usok. Sinasabi rin na ang mga mensahe ng Biblia ay tama at dapat sinusunod ngunit ang pang-aabuso sa mga nakasaad dito ay hindi tama. Dapat tayo‘y maging mapanuri kahit sa ating relihiyon lalung-lalo na sa mga gawain.
