A man above the ordinary

Although the birthday of Rizal is not celebrated as a national holiday, nevertheless it is fitting that on his birthday we should try to remember what he tried to do for his country.

Rizal was not an ordinary man. Viewed from any angle he was a person high above the ordinary. He did things that no ordinary person could do.

Take for instance his studies. In Madrid he enrolled in two separate schools simultaneously, obtaining an academic degree in both. He continued his medical studies in the faculty of medicine (housed in what had previously been a Jesuit college) and after two years obtained the Licenciate in Medicine (equivalent to our M.D.) and after one year of postgraduate studies qualified for the degree of Doctor of Medicine (in Europe a postgraduate degree). At the same time he also enrolled in the Universidad Central in the faculty of philosophy and letters, and after three years obtained the Licenciate in that faculty. Not only that, but he obtained the first prize in Greek in a class of 200 students.

While studying simultaneously in those two separate faculties, he also enrolled for advanced lessons in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and found time to take lessons in fencing in the gymnasium. Besides all this, he began writing a novel, the Noli me tangere.

By contrast several of the Filipinos in Madrid with more money than Rizal, frittered away their time in trivialities.

Leaving Madrid, he trained as an eye surgeon in a famous clinic in Paris. And then he went to Heidelberg in Germany to further specialize in retinal surgery.

Being a first-class physician and surgeon is a career in itself. But Rizal also was a first-rate scholar in various fields, including what today would be called anthropology. In linguistics, he wrote what probably is the most perceptive study of the Tagalog language. He was a pioneer Philippine historian. And he has written two novels and poetry, of one of which the well-known Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno said, "This poem will live as long as the Spanish language lasts."

With all these talents, he could have ingratiated himself with the Spanish government, as other Filipinos had done, and become wealthy and comfortable. Instead he worked for his country and paid the price.