When Rizal was mature enough to help his countrymen, he first used his association with the

propaganda movement, based in Madrid and his literary skills to promote the welfare of the Filipinos by
asking the Spanish government to initiate reform in the Philippines in terms of education and equality.

After he left Madrid and about to finish his novel, he was put in a financial situation which will delay his
plan because his brother was again in trouble with his farming and couldn't send to his brother his
allowance and money to print the Noli.

The Noli was projected by Rizal as wake up call to both spaniards and Filipinos about the lethargic state
of the Philippines which Rizal diagnosed as being afflicted with a dreaded disease which he called social
cancer.

The Noli was Rizal's way of picturing the social condition of the Philippines from the the last ten years
prior to its publication on March of 1887.

The novel contains stories about many people particularly their status as member of a religiously
oriented society and subjects of a politically corrupt and declining government of Spain.

Rizal was trying to uncover the veil that he considered was wrapping the truth because Spain was
proudly proclaiming that she was taking good care of her subjects and colonies.

But because of his financial trouble, he was forced to omit an entire chapter and in his most desperate
moment, even thought of throwing the manuscript to the fire but he remembered how his brother had
sacrificed and he gained his patience and waited for an opportunity to come.

Luckily for him and the Noli, a friend came along, Maximo Viola, who found him in Berlin, Germany, sick
and badly needed some help.

Viola, like Rizal was also a physician and when he diagnosed Rizal who was coughing badly, no sign of
tuberculosis was found which was affirmed by another physician when they sought a second opinion.

According to Viola, the case of Rizal was caused by his meager diet and relapse after an over exhausting
activity of letting too much weight.

You know class, one of Rizal's fitness regimen was weight lifting and when he was in Berlin, he went to a
fitness gym where he was ridiculed by some Germans who had seen him trying to left weights way over
his size.

And because he was overly sensitive, he challenged those Germans to give him a week to practice and
he will prove to them, that will left the weight they can carry despite his smaller countenance.

He really used that whole week practicing and was able to prove his words by letting what the Germans
can and thereby gained their admiration but such over display of strength made him pay by suffering
bouts of coughing and loss of energy.

Viola, who knew that he was planning to publish a novel, insistently offered some money which Rizal
initially refused out of pride. But the continued insistence of Viola made Rizal to agree by considering
the money of Viola as loan rather than charity which he will pay when able.
After the Noli came off the press, Rizal gave Viola the original manuscript and the pen he used in writing
the Noli.

The Noli was self-published by Rizal because he did not look for a publisher and according to some of his
biographers, he might be thinking that no publishing firm will print his novel because he was an
unknown writer in Europe which he new was not really fond of Indio like him.

Interestingly though, when the Noli got published, he received a lump sum from his brother who was
apologetic in sending a thousand pesos because of its long delay.

His brother then told him to use the money for his novel which was printed already and used the
remainder as a way to celebrate his graduations and the publication of his novel.

Since Viola was with him and loaded with money, the two of them embarked on a grand tour of Europe
where they visited many cities and countries including the only time Rizal met his best friend Ferdinand
Blumentritt in Leitmeritz which is now part of the Czech Republic.

According to Rizal, every time they move around and stopped in hotels for their nightly rest, the two of
them, always saw to it that they were accommodated in first class services because Rizal wanted to
leave an impression that Filipinos traveled that way.

After Rizal's meeting with Blumentritt, he Viola parted ways and he went on to travel some more and
finally moved back to the Philippines.

Out of the money minus the 300 pesos he paid to Viola, he was able to see the Vatican, Switzerland,
Austria, Moscow, leitmeritz, the Netherlands, and had many gifts and souviners for his family in the their
reunion in Calamba on August of 1887.

Before his return, he had shipped his Noli ahead of him and actually contracted some agents to
distribute the copies for his countrymen to read.

Rizal later admitted in some letters that the way of bringing the Noli to the Philippines was done by
smuggling because of the strict censoring policy of the Friars who will, according to his beliefs, will not
allow such novel to circulate in the Philippines.

He also gave signature copies to his friends who unanimously admired and congratulated him for a job
well done.

He also sent copies to Ateneo where most Jesuits were had mixed feelings.

Some copies however ended up with some Friars who read the novel in contempt and disgust because
they found themselves in the content as either. corrupt, greedy, abisive, and lascivious in the characters
of Padre Damaso, Padre Salvi and others.

No wonder, one of the Friars, Monsignor Pedro Payo, made a critical analysis of the Noli which the friar
found, heretical, impious, and scandalous to the catholic institution and subversive, unpatriotic, and
libelous to the government of Spain in the Philippines.

This findings of Payo were submitted to the office of the Governor General together with many
complaints to forbid the circulation, selling, and possession of the novel which the Governor General did
not immediately ordered since he was a liberal and wanted to hear first from the author before making
his decision.

So, while Rizal was busy in his newly established clinic in Calamba and doing civic services to his town
like building a gymnasium where he introduced some European sports like fencing and gymnastics and
helping uncover the source of the agrarian problem of the Calambans, he received a summon from the
Governor General to appear in Malacayang.

He met with Emilio Tererro, the Governor General who asked him if had written a subversive novel
because that the accusation his office was receiving from the Friars.

Rizal denied the accusation but promise Tererro to come back with a copy since the Governor General
ordered him to provide a copy that he wanted to read.

Rizal then went to Ateneo but the Jesuits did not lend him his novel because according to them, they
had come to love it so much that they cannot let it out of their campus anymore.

Some of the Jesuits debated against the way he wrote the novel by telling him he was wrong and one
Jesuit even predicted that he will die because of his Noli.

There was a rumor that a heated argument happened in Ateneo, which prompted Rizal to say that he
will never step in Ateneo for the rest of his life.

But he eventually found a copy which he described as overly used from a friend and went back to
Tererro.

In their next meeting, Tererro asked him if he had plans to go out of the country which he answered yes
and before he was dismissed, the Governor General assigned someone to accompany him home who
will also act as his personal bodyguard in Calamba. That person was Spanish lieutenant of the army by
the name of Jose Taviel de Andrade who aside from guarding Rizal was also secretly instructed by
Tererro to spy on Rizal and report any suspicious activity.

No suspicious activity was ever reported and Rizal and Andrade became close friends because they
shared not only their first name but also their interest in art, literature and many others.

But the Friars kept on complaining against the Noli and that Tererro was soft on Rizal

Tererro who found nothing subversive in the Noli was later fed up with the accusation that he ordered
the creation of a committee of professors who will censor the Noli before making the necessary
measures.

But since censorship was within the authority of the Friars, the committee submitted a picture copy of
Payo's version and recommended the banning of the Noli.

Thus the publication along with sale and reading of the Noli was prohibited and many copies were
seized and destroyed which resulted in shortage which triggered a very high demand that increased the
original price of two pesetas to fifty pesos.

But the Friars were not contented because Rizal, the author, remained unpunished and protected by
Tererro.
And it was rumored that the Friars were planning to eliminate Rizal that his father cautioned him not to
eat anywhere and must bring his own spoon and fork in going around and for Paciano not to let his
younger brother out of his sight.

His father even forbid him from visiting his girlfriend, Leonor Rivera who was by then residing in
Dagupan, Pangasinan and Rizal wanted to marry.

Tererro, feeling more fed up by friars' continued insistence to punish Rizal, made up his mind by
summoning Rizal once more, and advised him to go out of the Philippines on the pretext of being far
from the Friars and be free to write what he wanted.

So, despite his initial refusal, which he later change when he thought of the safety of his family and
friends, he left on February of 1888.

This ends our second topic and the next will be Rizal and Filipino Nationalism.