Life and Studies in Ateneo (1872-1877)

In 1865, college began to function in the Philippines when the Jesuits

returned. Jesuits were considered as the best educators in Spain, and perhaps in
Europe. So they established an institution called the Ateneo de Municipal.
The Instruction of Jesuitical system was considered advanced. Their methods were
less mechanical and rigid in discipline. Jesuits introduced physical culture as well as
art cultivation, such as music, drawing, and painting. Agriculture, commerce, and
mechanics were part of their vocational courses. Being a religious institution,
Ateneos principal purpose was to mold character.
Rizal entered Ateneo de Municipal in 1872. He describe his first professor, Fr. Jose
Bech as a man of high stature; lean body, bent forward; quick gait; ascetic
physiognomy, severe and inspired; small, sunken eyes; sharp Grecian nose; thin lips
forming an arch with its sides directed toward the chin."
During his second year in Ateneo he had the same professor as in the previous year;
but instead of lodging outside the City, he resided at No. 6 Calle Magallanes. At the
end of the term, he received excellenct grades in all his subjects and was awarded a
gold medal.
Rizal devoted most of his time to reading. He particularly admired Alexander
Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, The Universal History by Cesar Cantanu,
and Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor Jagor. Rizal also read romantic
novels that helped him in enriching his creative views in writing.
June 1874, during his third year in Ateneo, his year opened with a surprise visit from
her mother telling him that she was already released from prison. As a result, he
became more motivated to study and remain at the top of his class.
Rizal wrote the poem Mi Primera Inspiracion a poem dedicated to his mother. In
1875, he wrote Felicitacion, El Embarque: Himno a la flota de Magallanes, Y Es
Espaol: Elcano El Primero En Dar Vuelta Al Mundo, and El Combate : Urbiztondo,
Terror de Jolo. In 1876, Rizal wrote poems about religion, education and memories
of his youth and war: Un Recuerdo a Mi Puebo, Alianza Intima Entre la Religion y
Buena Educacion, Por La Educacin Recibe Lustre La Patria, El Cautiverio y el
Triunfo, and La Entrada Triunfal de los Reyes Catolices en Granada. During his last
year in Ateneo de Municipal, Rizal did not restrain his writing spirit. He wrote more
poems: El Heroismo de Colon, Colon y Juan II, Gran Consuelo en la Mayor Desdicha,
and Un dialogo Alusivo a la Despidida delos Colegiales.
Having a small built, he tried to cope by attending his gymnastics class regularly in
the college. He engaged himself to physical exercises, such as fencing. He also

devoted time to painting and sculpture. His drawing and painting instructor
was Don Augustin Saez. In sculpture, his instructor was a Filipino, Romualdo de
Jesus.
He graduated as Sobresaliente or "Outstanding", the highest recognition in
Ateneo.

Medical Studies in University of Sto. Tomas (1877-1882)

After graduating, he continued his education at the University of Santo Tomas. He
finished a year in Philosophy and Letters, then decided to shift to a medical
course. During the year of his studies in University of Sto. Tomas which was under
the Dominicans, rival of the Jesuits in education, he remained loyal to Ateneo. He
continued to participate in extracurricular activities in Ateneo and he completed a
course in surveying there as well. As a Thomasian, he won more literary laurels, had
more romances with girls, and had more fights with Spanish students.
Don Francisco and Paciano both agreed that Rizal should pursue a higher learning
but on the contrary, Dona Teodora did not want him to study further. She warned
them with a premonition that too much knowledge would endanger Rizal's life. She
adviced her husband, Do not send Jose again to Manila. If he gets to know too
much, they will cut off his head!. But his mother's plea never stopped Rizal from
continuing his education.
April 1877, Rizal who was just about 16 years old, matriculated in University of Sto.
Tomas taking up Philosophy and Letters. He enrolled in this course for two
reasons, first, his father wanted him to take the course, and second, he was still
uncertain as to which career he would pursue. He asked forFr. Pablo Ramon's
advice about his career. During his first term in 1877 1878 in UST, he studied
Cosmology, Metaphysics, Theodicy and History of Philosophy. It was during the
school term 1878 - 1879 that Rizal pursued his studies in medicine.
Rizal had two main reasons why he studied medicine. First, he wanted to be a
physician so that he could cure his mothers failing eyesight. And second, Fr. Pablo
Ramon, the Father Rector of Ateneo whom he consulted for a choice of career,
finally answered his letter, and recommended medicine.
In the school year 1877-1878, he finished his vocational course in surveying in
Ateneo, achieving the title of Agrimensor y Perito Tasador de Tierras or Expert
surveyor. In the following year, he had took his Pre-Medical Course which is
called Curso de Ampliacion or Advanced course in Physics, Chemistry and Natural
History. Normally, students are duty-bound to take first the preparatory course
before proceeding to medicine the next year. However, he took both courses in this
school year. Out of 28 young men taking Ampliacion, only four including Rizal were
granted the privilege of taking simultaneously the preparatory course and the first
year of medicine. Rizal also received his four year practical training in medicine at
the Hospital de San Juan de Dios in Intramuros. During his last year at the

University, Rizal had obtained the global grade of Notable(Very Good) in all of his
subjects, and he was the second best student in a decimated class of seven who
passed the medicine course. After which, Rizal decided to study in Spain.

Academic Journey to Spain (1882-1885)

His departure for Spain was kept secret from Spanish authorities, friars and even to
his parents especially to his mother because she would not allow him to go. In order
to avoid detection from authorities, he used the name Jose Mercado, the name of
his cousin in Calamba. On May 3, 1882 he boarded on Salvadora bound for
Singapore where he was the only Filipino passenger. During his voyage, he played
chess to kill his boredom and always came out victorious against his opponents. On
May 9th, they landed on Singapore and registered to Hotel de la Paz and spent a
couple of days going to places of interest. On November 3, 1882, he enrolled
in Universidad Central de Madrid taking up two courses: Philosophy and
Letters and Medicine.
On June 21, 1884, he conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine at
the Universidad Central de Madrid. The following academic year, he studied and
passed all subjects leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Unfortunately, he
was not able to submit the thesis required for graduation nor paid the corresponding
fees. With that, he was not awarded his Doctors Diploma.
Jose Rizal also finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters with higher grades. He
was awarded the Degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters by the Universidad
Central de Madrid on June 19, 1885 with the rating of excellent.

Opthalmology studies and travels in Europe

Jose Rizal went to Paris and Germany in order to specialize in ophthalmology. Among
all branches, he chose this specialization because he wanted to cure his mothers
failing eyesight.
In 1885, after studying at the Universidad Central de Madrid, Rizal, who was
then 24 yrs old, went to Paris to acquire more knowledge in ophthalmology. He
decided to visit his friend, Maximo Viola a medical student and a member of a rich
family in San Miguel, Bulacan who was currently in Barcelona. He stayed for a week
and met new friends including Seor Eusebio Corominas editor of La
Publicidad, Don Miguel Morayta owner of La Publicidad and a statesman.
November of the same year, Rizal was living in Paris. He worked as an assistant
to Dr. Louis de Weckert, a leading French ophthalmologist.
On February 3, 1886, after gathering some experience in ophthalmology, he left

Paris and went to Heidelberg, a historic city in Germany famous for its old
universities and romantic surroundings. He became popular among the Germans
because they found out that he was a good chess player. He worked at
the University Eye Hospital under the direction of Dr. Otto Becker, a
distinguished German ophthalmologist. On April 22, 1886, Rizal wrote a poem
entitled A Las Flores de Heidelberg (To the Flowers of Heidelberg) because he was
fascinated by the blooming flowers along the Neckar River, which was the light blue
flower called forget-me-not.
Right after writing A Las Flores de Heidelberg, he spent a three-month summer
vacation at Wilhelmsfeld where he stayed at the place of a Protestant pastor, Dr.
Karl Ulmer. The pastor had a wife and two children named Etta and Fritz. On
August 6, 1886, Rizal had witnessed the fifth centenary celebration of the
famous University of Heidelberg. Three days after, he left the city. Riding a train,
he traveled to other cities in Germany. On August 14, 1886, Rizal arrived in Leipzig.
There, he attended some lectures at the University of Leipzig on history and
psychology. He also befriendedProf. Friedrich Ratzel, a famous historian and Dr.
Hans Meyer, a German anthropologist. Rizal found out that the cost of living in
Leipzig was the cheapest in Europe so he stayed for 2 months and a half. On
October 29, he went to Dresden, where he met Dr. Adolph B. Meyer, the director
of theAnthropological and Ethnological Museum.
Rizal was enchanted by Berlin because of its scientific atmosphere and the absence
of race prejudice. He met scientists like Dr. Feodor Jagor, the German scientisttraveller and author of Travels in the Philippines, Dr. Rudolf Virchow, the
famous German anthropologist, Dr. W. Joest, a German geographer and Dr. Karl
Ernest Schweigger, a famous German ophthalmologist.
There were five reasons why Rizal choose to reside in Germany longer. First, to gain
further knowledge in ophthalmology. Second, to further his studies in science and
languages. Another was to observe the economic and political conditions of the
German nation. Fourth, to associate with famous German scientists and scholars
and lastly, to publish his novel, Noli Me Tangere. In Berlin, Rizal worked as an
assistant in the clinic of Dr. Schweigger'. At night, he attended lectures in
the University of Berlin and took private lessons in French under Madame Lucie
Cerdole.
Jose Rizal earned a Licentiate in Medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid,
where he also took courses in philosophy and literature. It was in Madrid that he
began writing Noli Me Tangere. He also attended classes in the University of
Paris and, in 1887, he completed his eye specialization course at the University of
Heidelberg. It was also in that year that Rizals first novel was published in Berlin.