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Title: The Legacy of Ignorantism
Author: Pardo de Tavera, T. H. (Trinidad Hermenegildo), 1857-1925
Language: English
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The Legacy of Ignorantism
(Ignorantismo)
An address delivered before the Teachers
Assembly, Baguio, April 23, 1920
By
Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera
[English and Spanish]
Manila
Bureau of Printing
1921
THE LEGACY OF IGNORANTISM [1]
(IGNORANTISMO)
By Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera
An address [2] delivered before the Teachers, Assembly, Baguio,
April 23, 1920
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken
away the key of knowledge; ye entered not in
yourselves, and them that were entering in
ye hindered--Luke 11:52.
I have the honor to appear before you accepting with great pleasure an
invitation which the Assistant Director, Mr. Osias, kindly extended to
me. Having left the choice of the subject to my discretion, I deemed it
worth while to speak on the Lay Education which has been in operation
in our public schools since the implantation of the new régime which
rules the destiny of the Filipino people. I am going to confine myself
to facts, and shall speak as frankly and as faithfully as the case
requires, altho in so doing I may hurt the feelings of some.
Satisfying Movement
For some time in our society there has been a growing concern against
immorality, against vice, against idleness; in short against those
which can rightly be called social ills. Such a tendency is certainly
good and satisfying; a sign of a notable social progress altho for
the majority it is a cause of alarm and regret because of the seeming
increase of such ills. Is there a positive increase of immorality? Is
there real cause for alarm because of a moral retrogression of our
society?
After having asked myself these questions and after having considered
the bases for the public clamor and for the excited opinion before the
sight of growing vice and immorality, I can say that this tendency
of public opinion is satisfying--a sign of betterment, of progress
of general morals. In other words, it is not immorality which is
growing. Rather, it is the moral consciousness which is gaining
ground in individual consciences, thus forming a public opinion which
formerly did not exist, completely awake to existing social evils and
which are combatted. Not that social morals has been decadent. On the
contrary, a moral consciousness has been rapidly formed in our society,
a consciousness which formerly was found only among an inconsiderable
minority, and which resulted in the new movement against vice and
immorality.
Public Opinion in Favor of Hygiene
To better understand this phenomenon and to explain it as it
really is and not as it apparently exists, it is worth while
to compare it with the appearance of a new sentiment which was
formed since the implantation of the American régime: the hygienic
consciousness. Formerly, hardly anybody spoke of the unsanitary
conditions of Manila, and only a few in our society had a true
idea of its deplorable state. Now that our individual education
has enabled us to understand what hygiene is and its importance has
been demonstrated, we have not only improved our sanitary condition
but a collective sentiment equal to the sum total of the individual
sentiments has been formed, and a public opinion in favor of hygiene
has been established. Since this opinion grows more rapidly than
sanitation itself in Manila, we see that every once in a while the
Bureau of Health is censured to the point of attributing to its
fault the increase of anti-hygienic conditions, when in reality what
increases is the clamor for hygiene by virtue of the increase of the
individuals who understand hygiene and demand strict application of
its laws and principles.
Now public opinion denounces hygienic shortcomings which are
incomparably less harmful than formerly, but which we view not in a
relative but absolute manner. An unsanitary condition is denounced
absolutely as an intolerable evil; relatively speaking our censure
would be less severe if we bore in mind that a similar ill is not
close at hand; we suffered in silence when we were ignorant not of its
existence but of its effects upon health, so then for us it existed
in a latent state and we did not see, feel, or notice it because of
lack of preparation. It is identical to what happens when at the
foot of a post charged with electric current is placed the sign:
"Danger to life." Such a sign is practically useless and is no means
of safety to the individual who does not know how to read. The one
who can read knows the danger; he who does not read does not avail
himself of the hygienic value of the danger signal.
Anti-Cockpit Campaign
Against the cockpit there is now a widespread campaign. This did not
grow out of increased passion for the vice but out of the increased
number of its enemies. None can say that cockfighting has increased;
it is easy to prove that it has decreased; the number of days permitted
by law is now insignificant compared with what it was a few years
ago. Nevertheless, the campaign against cockfighting has increased
precisely because the number of cockfighters has decreased. Exactly
the same thing happened in card playing and horse-racing.
Nothing in particular would be said about this general movement in
favor of social morality if the attitude of public opinion would not
have that mistaken and dangerous bias which is given it by certain
elements which at all times have been an obstacle to the instruction
of the Filipino people. These elements, taking advantage of the
preoccupation of public opinion to combat vice and purify public
morals, instead of simply supporting this movement and strengthening
it justifying its usefulness by the good itself which it seeks to
accomplish, launches a political campaign which consists in alarming
the people making them believe that immorality increases, that the
social ills are growing, that national life itself is endangered thru
the fault of the reformers as a result of the new régime in vogue
in the Philippines since the loss of the past sovereignty. They
take advantage of the current of public opinion in favor of public
morals, to make it appear that the democratic form of the Government,
the English language, the lay schools, coeducation, and Anglo-Saxon
civilization are the causes of the supposed growth of immorality:
Such is the program of certain people!
Our Enemies
Those who in a great measure are guilty to their nation for
the misfortunes that befell the Filipino people that resorted to
revolution and rebellion to free themselves from a régime opposed to
their progress and happiness, forgetting their incapacity to fulfill
the obligations which, in the name of their country, they assumed
here and which were the causes of the political failure of the past
colonization, they to-day wish to defend their interests in our country
pursuing their policy which would only produce dissension among the
Filipinos. Under the pretext of interesting themselves more than we do
in our own welfare, considering us to be blind and incapable to know
and distinguish the good from the bad, deeming us eternal indios of
inferior mentality, they seek to take us whithersoever they will,
where it suits them, thru the dark path where none see but they,
they who guide or wish to guide the indio, the eternal child who
ought to allow himself to be led!
In a foreign weekly published in Manila, we read the following:
"Dedicated to the search of the enemies of the progress of the
Filipinos, we find them in every bucket, in every cabaret; in the
peaceful invasion of Japanese in the Philippines; in "panguingue," in
billiard games, in the prevailing immorality in the theaters, in the
novel, in the cinematograph and in the postal card; and above all and
over all, in the lay school." He who thus expresses himself seeking to
arouse Filipino hatred against the Japanese, to create suspicion first
and trouble afterwards, is a stranger, and in the language in which
he himself writes are written the theatrical works and the immoral
novels that come to the Philippines. [3] In his language, too, were
promulgated those laws and regulations in our country instituting
cockfighting, lottery, billiard, created as sources of revenue for
the State--things which we the Filipinos could not oppose in the old
political régime without at the same time opposing the government
itself which made vice a source of revenue and which, to increase
its funds, had to encourage such vices, similar to opium in official
smoking-rooms. Of the lay school we shall now speak presently.
The Work of Calumny and Hatred
Considering the nature of this campaign against our present day
institutions, and painfully impressed by the great harm which this
disastrous work of calumny, hatred, distrust and pessimism must have
upon the progress and tranquillity of us, the Filipinos, I deem it my
duty to speak when I am led to think that the limit has been reached
by a document which came to my hands. It is no less than a circular
which a high prelate directs to the curates of the parishes of his
diocese, and which deals with public instruction. [4]
Hell Threat
The whole document is an attack against the Government schools, simply
because in them the Catholic religion is not taught, threatening with
hell those parents who send their children to such schools. At the
close it says as follows:
As a first step, after you have let the parents see the
social evils which result from a Godless school, such as
crime against purity, murder, suicide, rapine and robbery,
disobedience against civil and ecclesiastical authorities,
in short, the corruption of customs, all the seasoned fruit
of those lay schools, your reverences should influence them
to declare, in writing or communications which they should
address to us, to the government without euphemisms their
irrevocable and decided will that Christian education be
given them in the schools. We, for our part, will look after
the sending of these petitions to the Legislature.
Machiavelic Accusation
"All the seasoned fruit of those lay schools" said the prelate
referring to the crimes and the corruption of customs which he
mentions! An accusation of such nature must be proven by him who
accuses. The worst part of it is that such accusations are made and
later with the recommendation that they be made to sink into heads of
parents or heads of families. The faithful will consider as true the
affirmations that come from the lips of their priests, so that such
propaganda promotes in the worst manner a feeling against a government
accused of fomenting criminality in its schools. The prelate does
not enjoin violence; but at such times as these, violence naturally
results from an adequate preparation of the popular conscience; and
when a people believes that the Government, the educator no less,
is the cause of the thieves, the murderers, the corruptors, a people
is truly dead who does not seek to wipe out by any means such a
government, especially if it is foreign, which corrupts its citizens.
Colossal Transformation
Fortunately, it can be said without fear of erring that such
accusations are altogether false; and if there is anything in the
Philippines which deserves the approval of all worthy conscience,
something which merits not only the gratitude but the admiration
of the Filipino people, it is the organization of public education
implanted by the American people. There is not a single Filipino
capable of reasoning who does not see and understand the colossal
transformation which our entire people experienced by virtue of that
lay education. Not only did the Government organize an efficient
educational system, but it extended it throughout the Archipelago
in such a general way that some European nations which continually
cite the annals of history, would very much like it for themselves;
not only do we the Filipinos find in our lay schools those elements
necessary for our instruction and our education so that we can be
useful individuals to ourselves, and coöperate in the administration
of our public affairs, but the private schools of the old régime have
changed, have improved, have been transformed, have been placed to
the level where they should, following the standard maintained by
the Government. To deny this is sheer blindness.
A Dominican School in Formosa
Only he who is blinded by passion is capable of making accusation
against the lay school such as we have here reproduced, and against
which the first to protest will likely be the Dominican friars in
the Philippines whose mission in Formosa, has a girl's school for the
Chinese and Japanese in the Capitol, Taihoku, which I visited on my
trip to that island. Reverend Father Clemente Fernandez, a Dominican
and the Apostolic Vicar of Formosa, did me the honor of accompanying
me in visiting such a school, called Beata Imelda, situated in the
barrio of Daitelei, in Taihoku. It is a beautiful school of which
the Dominicans can justly be proud. But it was not the material or
educational organization of the institution that impressed me so much
as the absence of all religious images in the rooms, classes, halls,
and other rooms used for and by the girls.
On my noticing the existence of so singular a case, Reverend Clemente
Fernandez made it known to me that, among the conditions stipulated by
the law of public instruction of Formosa, both for the government as
well as the private schools, is the absolute prohibition of religious
education and the presentation of images and objects of worship. This
is therefore a lay school, a godless school, upon which should also
fall the surprising accusation of a prelate who makes use of the
liberty afforded him by our government to teach his religion in our
schools, but abusing such right and attempting furthermore to impose
his will upon the Government, accusing it of teaching homicide, theft,
immorality, and corruption of customs in our schools.
Were We To Use the Same Procedure
There is no doubt that even under the Spanish régime we already knew
of the existence in the Philippines of criminals condemned to death
and imprisonment for murder, theft, rape, sacrilege, and all kinds
of crimes, and that the corruption of customs was neither unknown
nor rare. Since under the entire period of Spanish domination,
instruction was under the exclusive care of the friars of the Roman
Church, if we utilize the same procedure of the above-mentioned
prelate, we could also accuse all the priests of having instructed
the Filipinos, thru their education, in murder and in theft, and that
the corruption of customs was "all the seasoned fruit of the Catholic
schools." I do not propose such an accusation; I only content myself
with presenting it as a logical consequence which could be deduced
following the method used by the prelate in speaking to no less than
his priests in a circular designed to orient the mentality of his
clergy and of his parishioners. Pondering over the accusation of the
Bishop, it occurred to me that it would be beneficial to recall the
public instruction that was formerly given in the Philippines by the
"godly schools" and consider the results obtained. Confident in the
respectable character, and, to many, the sacred character of the
priests, I must resort to their testimony to know what that education
was and what results it gave to the Filipino people.
We should not conceal the truth when the truth portrays things that
may not be pleasing to us. None like those who are dedicated to
instruction have such an interest in knowing the mentality of the
society in which they live and which it is their duty to educate. An
exact knowledge of the moral, intellectual, and physical defects
of a people is the most important factor to orient its education,
and it would be absurd to close one's eyes to what is bad, because
the principle of correcting a certain thing is to know if it is a
mistake or not. One cannot correct an evil of which he is ignorant.
The Education of the Filipino People under Religious Direction
Before attacking or defending the lay education of the public schools
it would seem useful to know what the education of the Filipino
people was under religious direction, and then know what results were
obtained; that is to say, how a man subjected to such a system was
transformed after more than three centuries of such a practice.
I must secure the data which I here present from ecclesiastical sources
because, altho they contain a certain exaggeration, in speaking of its
own work which, as it is natural, they defend, magnify, and praise,
they are after all the most useful in knowing the defects themselves
which, under the circumstances, constitute real confessions.
Father Santiago Paya, Rector of the University of Santo Tomas, said
among other things the following to the Philippine Commission on July
1, 1899:
All secondary instruction in the Philippine Islands was under
the University of Santo Tomas. Besides the private schools
in Manila there were also some in the provinces, but all the
colleges of secondary instruction were subject to Santo Tomas.
There were primary schools in almost all the towns supported by
the Government in which a very elementary instruction was given
* * * reading, writing, catechism, and a little arithmetic.
The Filipinos, as a general rule, have good memory but without
great talent; they have no good talent.
Almost all education in the Philippines was given by the
religious orders, that is to say, the secondary and university
instruction was maintained by the religious orders, and
primary instruction by the curates of the towns.
Among the Filipinos all is imitation. They lack
originality. They were taught how to read and write Spanish but
the majority of them learned it in a purely mechanical manner.
The Indios were very averse to the Castilian language; those
who knew how to speak it did not like to speak it. This was
true in Manila as well as in its suburbs. Those who know
Spanish prefer to speak their own language in their homes.
From Fray José M. Ruiz in his Memoria presented to the Philippine
Exposition in Madrid in 1887, we take the following:
The curate is a local inspector of public instruction, adviser
of the gobernadorcillos, and president of the various local
boards. The Indios see in them a father, a pastor, and a
protector, and as such they have always been recognized by
the Government of these Islands (p. 239).
A great part of the Philippine inhabitants, that is to say,
that which lives in the barrios and places more or less
isolated and inaccessible, is about to be civilized (está
casi por civilizar) (p. 247).
Referring to the mass of the people the same father says:
The masters devoted as they are, save in a few honorable
exceptions, to their proper interests, have ignored completely
the instruction of these unhappy ones in their religious duties
* * * and their children, given over to the pasture of work
animals, are reared in the midst of the most stupid ignorance
(p. 254).
Later the author adds:
To give the Indio means of instruction and to place him in
condition to benefit from it, and while this is not done,
and until now this has not been done as we shall later show,
is to concede rights to him who does not know how to appreciate
what he deserves to the disgrace of the Spanish name and to
the shame of the Spaniards in these Islands (p. 288).
Says the same Friar Ruiz:
And altho they are inimical to going to schools (the Indios)
and to sending their children, it is because it is nothing but
for wasting time since they learn nothing * * *. Furthermore,
the towns are so crowded with ignorant teachers that without
consulting anybody they establish private schools paid for
by the parents of the children. Thus they learn what little
good and a great deal of bad which they possess, to whom
they teach Cartilla, and something of reading and writing,
utilizing as texts for both the books called Corridos, which
are full of anachronisms, errors, and absurdities of all kinds
* * *. They also learn something of the Catechism (p. 337).
The places for the schools besides being bad are completely
abandoned, and many are in ruins (p. 339).
There is no order in the school, and each one goes in and
out without permission whenever he pleases (p. 440).
Recognition of a Dominican
Fray José M. Ruiz very faithfully recognizes the lamentable state in
which the so-called public instruction in the Philippines was found
outside of Manila where things were not so bad. From his standpoint it
was necessary to teach Spanish and at least to give to the Filipinos
books in the dialects, from which they would learn the most elementary
things of which they were ignorant, and Religion and Moral. The Rueda
[5] translation would be better adding something about the Philippines
and the grammar of his dialect in Spanish. Undoubtedly he wanted to
say that the Spanish grammar should be translated into the dialects.
If this is not done we believe that we would only lose
time. With such measures in thirty years the Spanish language
would be diffused among the children (pp. 440-441).
For the same reason (distance and lack of roads) the boys and
girls do not attend schools, and what little they know they
learn from some ignorant teachers (maestrillos). People,
ordinarily of bad life, escaped from other towns, some of
whom are also quack doctors and bone-setters who at the same
time that they are teaching the Cartilla and a little bit
of the Catechism imbue the children with a thousand and one
superstitions and all kinds of vices. The priest who at times
goes, out of necessity, to attend to some one who is seriously
ill, and very seldom visits them (the Indios) ex-profeso,
the parochial districts being generally very large and their
duties so numerous and urgent, can only in part remedy some
of these evils.
The Filipino People
Now let us see what kind of people the Filipinos were. It is essential
to know the psychology of the community. No opinion is so valuable
for the present case than that of the missionary above cited, who
says the following about the psychology of the Filipino.
As a people who are ignorant and with but little culture, the
Indios are bound to have considerable superstitious beliefs
which they practice, unconsciously deceived by medicine men,
who are the ones who keep alive these ridiculous traditions of
their ancestors, without knowing the reasons for what they do
(p. 261).
They (the Indios) are deeply superstitious, a thing which is
revealed in all their acts.
Citing the words of Dr. Lacalle, Father Ruiz says:
To pretend that a people taking the first steps on the road
of civilization, and that in their religious acts manifest
themselves in their acts as religious, severe, cultured and
real thinkers, is absurd in the extreme (p. 348).
And he adds what follows:
We should not lose sight of the fact that the Indio is a
child badly educated, but a big child completely developed
in his passions. He acts not from conscience but from fear;
he is moved not by reasons but by impressions; a friend of
novelties and spectacles, he acts to the tune of the various
impressions which he receives. Naturally he is inconstant and
flighty, desiring one thing and another, now liking what he
formerly disliked, without firmness nor stability in anything,
without knowing many times what to like, nor what befits
him. Such is the Indio briefly sketched.
The Filipino Spaniards
The Filipino Spaniards (españoles filipinos) are of two
classes: some are immediate descendants of Spaniards,
descendants of Filipino Spaniards, or also children of a
Filipina mother and a peninsular father (p. 288).
Unfortunately, they have all the bad qualities of the Spaniard
and the Indio, and lack that docility of character observed
in the latter and the nobility and greatness characteristic of
the former. They are of little heart, coward and mean besides
being arrogant and choleric and are very rude with the Indios,
whom they usually despise and maltreat in words and in deed,
and frequently are stupid and troublesome.
From the Indios they learned all the superstitions, numerous,
untrue, absurd fables which are traditional among them, and
in a word, all their habits and customs. Thus they eat rice
with their fingers and have marked fondness for the sweets
and dirty foodstuffs of the Indios.
Since they are brought up with much petting and are not
strictly punished, they make bad servants, disobedient,
capricious, insolent, and foul-mouthed. The women are so
lacking in modesty, and, since they have been reared in the
atmosphere of abandon and laziness, they are useless for the
management of the home and the family (pp. 289-290).
* * * Thus the men as well as the women, altho religious,
are credulous and superstitious as the Indios themselves.
Such is the idea that can be given about the Filipinos
(p. 290).
The Chinese half-breed is described in the same manner.
Literature for the Filipinos
The only literature accessible to the Filipinos of little culture
and also to those of the better class consisted of Corridos which
constitute the profane literature, and the Pasión and the Novenas
which formed the religious reading. Corridos, Pasiones, and Novenas
were printed in abundance, in cheap editions, in Spanish as well as
in the dialects of the country.
The Corridos are stories in verse about historic events, falsified and
fanciful, and love tragedies full of wonderful events mixed with divine
prodigies and diabolical magics--all lengthy, exaggerated, puerile, and
absurd in the extreme. None of the characters is native. All are Turks,
Arabs, knights, errants, ambassadors, dukes, warriors in armor provided
with magic arms and with balsams like the famous one of Fierabras,
good Castilians and bad strangers. All the characters are antipodal
to Philippine realities and with the semblance of the real and true
being from unknown lands and prodigious races. The same is true with
the scene of activities; wonderful lands, Palestine, the kingdom of
Navarra, the Empire of Great Kahn, the Palace of Macedonia, and not
only are they ignorant of, and do they falsify, the face of the earth,
but the planetary system itself suffers a radical change. Palms and
tamarind grow in the vicinities of Moscow; Palestine and Macedonia are
covered with prairies like Norway and Switzerland, and whales appear
in the Mediterranean. Events which begin in the morning in Macedonia
and in the most natural manner in the afternoon of the same day in a
palace of Babylonia, and a princess of Aragon captured early in the
morning in Sicily discusses at midnight and without an interpreter
with a Moro of Samarcanda.
The Pasión, a work in verse in the different Filipino dialects, is
not only the passion of Christ, but it consists of a sort of abridged
edition of sacred history.
The Novenas are religious booklets dedicated to a saint whose favor
is invoked in order to obtain from God such and such favors. They
consist of a system of prayers in relation to certain miracles with
reflections about the saint, which are said every day for a period
of nine consecutive days. To Virgin Mary is attributed the origin of
the Novenas because she venerated the number 9 in memory of the fact
that nine days it was when she was apprised of the incarnation of
the divine Messiah, and also because of the nine months in which she
carried Him in her virgin womb. (Novena to Jesús, María, and José,
Manila, 1903, in the Exordium.)
The Novenas offer a very simple way of obtaining from heaven what
is asked in them from a protector saint. If the sympathy and aid
of a patron or a patroness whose mediation is implored is won, one
can obtain everything, be it appertaining to earthly life or future
life. It is a very easy means. It is like a magic ceremony with
its ritual composed of praises and acts of humiliation, devotion,
submission, admiration, and other propitiatory manifestations looking
toward gaining the sympathy and the protection of the saint. This
follows an enumeration of favors which may be requested and which are
always attended to by God as demonstrated by the numerous examples
which are mentioned with scrupulous care in the Novena. All the
Novenas are published with ecclesiastical permit after the censorship
of the prelate who examines scrupulously the writings to see if there
is anything that is contrary to morals, good customs, and absolute
orthodoxy. In a word, all are printed with the necessary licenses.
The prodigies mentioned in these Novenas compare very well with
the enchantments, magics, and sorceries of the primitive Filipinos
who invoked the propitiation of their divine spirits by means of
ceremonies, sacrifices, charms, and incantations performed by their
mangkukulam (witch), babailanas, and other prestidigitators, priests,
medicine men, charmers, and fortune-tellers, which are referred to
and are enumerated in the old chronicles written by the missionaries
in the Philippines.
Substitution of "Unseen Powers"
All the fear of the mysterious as well as the belief of the Filipinos
in unseen powers which took away life, attracted misfortunes, gave
victory, or conduced to disaster was conserved, changing only the
concepts that they had about the spirits that governed the affairs
of life and the phenomena of nature. The patron saints recommended
by the missionaries came to take the place of the ancient anitos
representative of their past which they gave intervention in their
idolatry in all the affairs of life.
When the missionaries preached their religion, they condemned the old
Pagan superstitions but they taught new superstitions more powerful
than the original, not only because of the prestige of the new patrons
who are all members of a Celestial Court organized as an earthly
aristocracy and headed by the same God, Creator of the Universe,
but by communicating with God in the same tongue, which the ordinary
man supposed was spoken by Him, which is the Latin tongue, in which
the priests said their prayers and sang their hymns.
"Ensalmos"
The Oremus, the Laus Deo, Agnus Dei, Deo Gracias, Nos cum prole pia,
Benedicat Virgo Maria, Per omnia secula seculorum, Kyrie eleyson,
Christe eleyson, came under the category of enchantments (ensalmos)
known by the terms bolong and mantala of the primitive mangkukulam,
manghihikup, mananangisama, etc. etc., of Philippine paganism. All
of these Latin phrases acquired so great a prestige that they were
looked upon as a form of irresistible invocation for conquering the
divine will, and a certain ridiculous sect came to be known as the
Colorum, which term originated from the wrong pronunciation of secula
seculorum with which many Latin prayers ended, prayers which were
incomprehensible but used due to the ignorance of many.
The phrase agnus dei qui tolis pecata mundi is used as an incantation
in which every word more or less incomprehensible has a sacred
character so that if one should say that he despises qui tolis, it
would be considered a blasphemy because the Qui Tolis is something
sacred or divine. A child after saying the trisagio said by way of
protest: "I am tired of saying kirileson (Kyrie eleyson)." His mother
then punished him for playing with the name of God. Another child who
happened to name a dog Qui Tolis was corrected by his aunt, saying:
"The name of God is never used for naming an animal."
Magic Invocations
All this constitutes a real array of magic invocation in the efficacy
of which there is great confidence to avoid evil, ridding of danger,
securing more good, and attaining some grace. As an example of the
power of the invocations and what can be obtained by merely saying
frequently "Jesús, María, y José" (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph), which
constitutes the most "divine trinity on earth," the following cases
are related: (Novena a Jesús, María y José, Manila, 1903).
A bad man walking in the middle of the night in front of the church of
San Francisco in Cuzco, Peru, saw lights in the cemetery, and knowing
it to be a funeral, went to the place to witness it. Presently he
noted that there was a throne where Jesus Christ was found seated
between Mary and Joseph. Then several demons appeared, each one with a
book in his hand. One of them began accusing a bad woman from Buenos
Aires. "Jesus," says the Novena, "pronounced a sentence against her
of instant death and with it eternal perdition" (p. 7). The demon
disappeared in order to execute the sentence. Another devil read from
his book that in Chile there was another bad woman. "Jesus sentenced
her to death and condemnation" (p. 8). The devil ran to carry out the
sentence. Another one appeared accusing a bad man of Cuzco, and this
man was precisely the same who tarried to witness the scene at the
cemetery. "When the just judge was about to sentence him to death and
condemnation, Blessed Mary and Joseph knelt before the divine Master,
asking mercy on behalf of the accused, alleging that many times he
invoked the holy names (Jesús, María y José). Jesus having denied
pardon, his parents begged him anew, and seeing that they were not
making headway toward securing pardon, the Blessed Virgin showed to
her Blessed Son the breast from which He sucked, and the Patriarch
Saint showed him the hands that maintained him thru his labors"
(p. 8). Then Jesus conceded the pardon as a matter of grace which can
only be characterized as material gratefulness (estómago agradecido).
Great Incentive to Crime
The invocation "Jesús, María y José" working as a magic formula saved
that man who had no more merit than his ability to mention the names
of the "trinity on earth." In the same novena there is a consideration
of this most marvelous favor, and that is, that in order to obtain
some reform in our lives in view of the favor conceded by Jesus, Mary,
and Joseph to their devotee, tho he be a confirmed sinner, it was only
necessary to imitate an invocation so frequently repeated in all his
days of malice, the words "Jesús, María y José" (p. 10). The man in
question had no other merit nor is he enjoined to have one. It is
enough that he utters the magic invocation and that he does as he
pleases in the belief of being free from punishment. What a great
incentive this is to crime!
Another Notable Case
Another notable case of the effect of the same invocation is that of
a Dominican friar called Fray Juan Masias, who for more than twelve
years stayed in his dark cell in prayer. He was visited by many devils
who pulled and pushed him, treating him very badly in words and in
deed. But he was freed from them by saying "Jesus Savior, Mary, and
Joseph, be with me." "On other occasions the devils entered hurriedly
and noisily catching him by the legs and dragged him from his room
to the cloister. Some hit him and slapped him, others stepped on his
stomach and on his head, still others scratched his face and sought
to pluck his eyes, but invoking the names of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
they (the devils) vanished and left him (p. 14). And the strangest
part of it is that the friar made the invocation after suffering the
consequences of the punishment above mentioned; so that, in other
words, he condescended to allow the devils to have some fun for a
while at his expense.
An Economical Diversion
The same friar "at other times while going to church in prayer,
was caught by the devils and was taken; and they threw him up in the
air so high that, passing above the roofs of the capitular hall which
divides the first cloister from the next, he fell in the latter. There
other devils were awaiting him and receiving him they threw him
anew in the same manner so that he landed again in the principal
cloister without hearing from him a word of protest or suffering until
invoking the sacred names of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, they left him
(p. 15). Who on reading this would not envy a friar having a diversion
so entertaining and so sane and economical? How can one help being
grateful to the demons who received him in the other hall instead
of letting him fall on the floor? With reference to these prodigies
mentioned one reads in the same Novena the following considerations:
"What trouble is there for us to habituate ourselves in repeating in
our invocations the sweetest names of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph? (p. 27).
The Infernal Power
At every step this infernal power is amplified and magnified in these
Novenas. Not only is the devil deemed among the enemies of the soul,
together with our body and the entire humanity, but at every moment
we tremble at his snares, we consider ourselves weak to resist him
and even at times seemingly fearing that the self same God will not
know how to defend Himself from the devil because at every step it is
sought to awaken God and place him as a sort of guard against this
infernal power. "Help us Lord from heaven, our strong liberator in
this struggle with the powers of darkness; and as other times thou
hast freed thy son, Jesus, from imminent peril of life, so now defend
the Holy Church of God from the snares of their enemies and from all
adversity, and keep each one of us under thy eternal protection." (Page
54, Ofrecimiento al Santísimo Rosario, Manila, 1905.)
Another Miracle
The following miracle shows clearly the work of the devil and shows at
the same time that souls cannot be condemned so easily when a mortal
beseeches the protection of a powerful patron. "A certain man,"
it is said in the Novena of San Vicente (p. 15), "gave his soul to
the devil with a certificate (cedula) signed by his own hand, and
hearing the Saint preach, implored him to ask that the demon return
it. The Saint fell to praying, and made the devil come and ordered
him to return the certificate to the man, having as witnesses of this
miracle many thousands of persons."
Silliness of Some Saints
This foolish fear of the devil is a cause of many errors such as the
one mentioned in the following miracle: "In Trayguerra, a simple lad
hearing San Vicente preach on the ugliness of the demon, prayed God
that a devil be shown him in order to fight. It happened that a poor,
old woman was passing who was dumb from birth, was very ugly and poorly
dressed, and had sickle in her hand. The lad, thinking that she was
the devil, furiously assailed her, and taking away her sickle, cut off
her hands, her ears, and her nose. The afflicted woman shouted but as
she was dumb she could not make herself understood and only howled, and
then the simpleton cut her up, saying: "Let them come and they will see
what I do with the devils!" (p. 18, Novena de San Vicente). To believe
that God permitted a similar infamy is a gross insult to God. True,
the act is committed by a silly lad, but sillier still is the work
of the saint in speaking of the physical ugliness of the demon,
when according to the understanding of all, the demon is a spirit.
"In Taulada," says the Novena (p. 21), "two Moros passed in front of
an image of San Vicente, one of whom took off his hat and the other
did not. The latter paid dearly for it for in that instant, without
knowing from whom, he was slapped, fell to the ground, and had fever
from which he died." It was wonderful how it was known that it was a
slap, and the miracle could not have been more cruel, not especially
because of the insignificance of the fault committed, inasmuch as
it dealt with a Moro who did not believe nor did he understand this
Christian superstition.
A devout one who was wont to go to Saint Filomena asks protection
against the devil (Novena, p. 22) and says: "Satan like a hungry lion
makes a round about turn; his ministers vie with one another to put
me down. I with my frailty am also the enemy of my own soul * * *."
As I said the Novenas are used to implore a divine mercy, utilizing
the intervention of a saint or a virgin to secure some necessity or
a simple affair in life.
There is nothing more inspiring than to know the news about the
origin of the Novena de San Antonio de Padua which "is said to be
revealed by the same saint * * * and the devout ones can follow it
confident of obtaining thru his intermediation whatever they desire"
(Novena de San Antonio, p. 5). "The same San Antonio revealed to a
devout woman the way of doing it" (p. 6).
He Who Asks Shall Receive
The Novena of María de los Dolores, Manila, 1905, is "for obtaining
what is desired in any affair of the soul or for the good of the body."
The Novena of San Vicente de Ferrer "altho it can be made in the home,
it is much better to do it in the church because there he who asks
shall receive and he who looks shall find, as the Lord himself said"
(p. 5 of the Novena, Manila, 1917).
San Ramon Nonato is: "Patron of the work of the laborers and their
livestock; wonderful antidote against pestilence; universal refuge for
the cure of all diseases and pains; singular protector of the women who
invoke him in their dangerous hours of giving birth, and of the sterile
ones who seek the comfort of his protection." This is what is said in
the frontispiece of his novena, Manila 1918. "By merely invoking his
name or by adoring his saintly relic, and by drinking the water where
it is passed, the saint can accomplish thousands of wonders" (p. 6).
"I," says one devout woman, "have such faith in and experience with,
San Ramon that whatsoever I ask God thru him was always secured or
obtained, and for the sake of truth, I swear and confirm the same"
(Novena, p. 15).
A form of great persuasive virtue to obtain the divine will and to win
from it what is desired is to pray the Trisagio. It seems that during
a period of great geologic and meteorologic commotions experienced
in Constantinople in the year 447 (Trisagio Seráfico, Manila, 1889,
p. 7), it happened that "a child of tender age was carried to the
winds, all those encamped being eye witnesses, until he could be
seen no more. After a long time he returned to earth in the same
manner that he went up and stated in the presence of the Patriarch,
of the Emperor, and of the wondering multitude, that he heard the
angels sing this concert: 'Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal,
have mercy upon us.' (Santo Dios, santo fuerte, santo inmortal, tened
misericordia de nosotros.)" The child immediately thereafter died. The
Emperor ordered that all should repeat this sacred canticle and that
moment the earthquakes ceased and the meteorological disturbances
stopped. Hence, "the use of the Trisagio as a form for invoking the
Holy Trinity in dangerous fatal times" (p. 78). Among other things
the following is tacitly asked in the Trisagio: "Of thy ire and anger,
Lord and triune free us. Of the snares, nearness of the demon; of all
ire, hate and bad will; of all plagues or epidemics, hunger, storms;
of our enemies and their machinations free us" (pp. 20-21).
Reminders of Cannibalism
Altho the Trinity is composed, as everybody knows, of the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, and in the Trisagio the three persons are
invoked and asked at the same time, nevertheless there are other
forms of securing the divine favor, invoking separately only one of
the persons of the Trinity. Thus in the Novena of Jesus Sacramentado,
the Father is asked by means of the intercession of the Son, or in
other words, by only a viscera of the Son or an organ of his body,
the heart, or more properly the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "The eternal
Father has complacency," says the Novena (p. 6), "in that it is
asked in the name of the Heart of his beloved Son * * *." "The Father
Eternal said so directly to the venerable Mary of the incarnation"
(pp. 6-7). "Ask me thru the heart of my only begotten Son, and thru
it I shall hear thee and thou shalt obtain all that thou wouldst
ask * * *." Jesus said to his wife Margaret (esposa Margarita):
"I ask you that on Friday immediately before the Corpus festivity,
you particularly devote yourself to the worship of my heart" (p. 7).
The adoration of the heart is not symbolic; it is the real heart
that is adored: "they shall adore with greater frequency, to Jesus
transsubtantiated, and in him, to his Divine Heart" (p. 7). "His
Novena will be made before an image of Jesus or to His Sacred Heart"
(p. 10). The devout one, carrying his adoration almost to a point
of the revival of atavic cannibalism, says to Jesus: "O, thou owner
of mine! Give me thine body and with it thine heart that I may eat
it!" (para que le coma) (p. 12).
There is a Novena dedicated to Saint Angel Custodio (Manila, 1897),
who is the "Angel delegated by God to be at our side, and exercise
with us the loving offices of a careful tutor, a loving governor,
a loving preceptor, a faithful conductor, and an intimate and
true friend * * *" (p. 6). "No saint in heaven interests himself
more in our soul and in our business than the holy Guardian Angel"
(p. 6). His intervention is so useful and "he not only transmits
what is asked but modifies our petitions when he knows that some
of our petitions might bring us some spiritual or corporal evil"
(p. 7). "It is therefore the best guarantee against any error of ours,
and naturally it makes a sense of responsibility absolutely useless."
Second Christ
Saint Domingo de Guzman is one of the most powerful lawyers in
heaven. In his Novena (Manila, 1913), he is called the precursor of
Christ, altho in reality he came to the world twelve centuries after
Christ (p. 5). "In the chastity, color, and figure of his body, and
in the eloquence of his spirit, he was the one most like Christ"
(p. 7). He was very celebrated in all manners of prodigies and
miracles, both on earth and in heaven, among men as well as among
beasts, among the living as well as the dead" (p. 9). One day Virgin
Mary appeared to him and "holding him by the hand said to him that
she loved him so tenderly, that if the Divine Lady were a mortal,
she would not be able to live except in his presence, and would
have died by the violence of the great love that she had for him
* * *" (p. 10). Later Virgin Mary, not satisfied with such erotic
manifestations, married him (le desposó consigo) in the presence of her
husband Christ (esposo de Cristo), and of many blessed ones in heaven"
(pp. 11-12), resulting that Jesus, besides being the son of Mary,
is also her husband, so that with Saint Joseph, Saint Domingo was
the third husband of Mary. The Eternal Father communicated to Saint
Catalina de Sena that Christ and Domingo were his two special sons
* * *." Christ proceeded from the mouth of the Eternal Father, staying
at his right, and Saint Domingo proceeded from the breast of the same
Eternal Father, at his right on his feet in glory" (p. 15). With
such antecedents one can readily understand how "Christ promised
to concede to him all that he would ask on behalf of his devotees"
(p. 15), so that the power of the Saints is unlimited. In verse it
is said of him:--
You can do everything in heaven
being husband of Mary;
Who so confides in thee (Domingo)
give him health and comfort.
You have faithfully and unceasingly
defended the church (p. 35).
Pues podeis tanto en el Cielo,
Siendo esposo de María;
Domingo, al que en vos confía,
Dadle salud y consuelo" (p. 35).
Fuesteis can que con desvelo
a la Iglesia defendida * * *" (p. 35).
The can is referred to here because while the mother was pregnant it
(the foetus, el feto) was manifested to her in the form of a dream
and in the figure of a dog with a lighted ax in his mouth (p. 6).
Promises of the Virgin
The Novena to the Virgin of the Rosary begins with an enumeration of
the Fifteen Promises of the Virgin to the devotees of the Rosary. In
the first she promises to grant whatever special grace is asked of
her. He who prays the rosary will be converted if he is a sinner,
and in any event will be admitted to life eternal. "All that is asked
of her will be secured quickly" (p. 4).
The list of miracles performed by the image of the Virgin of the
Rosary is endless and occupies all the pages from 37 to 90 of the
Novena. Not only does the image perform miracles but her skirt as
well as the oil that burns in her lamp, and the water where her hands
are washed, or any rosary or object touched by her skirt or her image
also accomplish miracles (p. 9).
In the Novena of Saint Joseph (Manila, 1910), after reminding
him of his relation with God, it is affirmed that "there is no
protection more efficacious for securing all that is asked than his"
(p. 7). "Necessitating everything from the divine favor it is sure that
none shall fail who confident will seek the protection of Saint Joseph"
(p. 29). "Saint Joseph assists the needy, gives health to the sick,
consoles the afflicted, sends rains, freezes ice, multiplies fruits,
favors in storms, on the roads, and among the drowning * * *. Finally
there shall be none who trusting in the same will not receive that
which is asked."
To the Holy Child of Cebu, an image which was left in that city by
the companions of Magellan, went the Cebuanos before their conversion
to Catholicism to ask rain "carrying him in a procession to the
seashore and submerging it in the water and thus secure the rain that
they needed so much." (Novena al Santísimo Nombre, Malabón, 1895,
p. 5). Nevertheless, the immersion in the sea water is a recourse
which may be said to be resorted to only in extreme cases because a
verse in that novena says:
Si acaso no conseguían
las aguas porque os rogaban,
al mar, Oh Niño, os llevaban,
y en las aguas os metían;
y así el agua que pedían,
otorgaba vuestro amor" (p. 29).
If they failed to get the waters they prayed for, to the
sea, Oh Child, they carried thee and put thee in the water,
so that thy love conceded the water they asked.
The better known miracles by the Holy Child took place from 1618
to 1675. Since then nothing in the Novena that is memorable is
registered. Nevertheless, the novena confirms that "the Holy Child
performs continually" miracles (p. 15), and to "him go all the citizens
of Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, and Mindanao to kiss his sacred feet and
venerate him and commend to him their necessities and misfortunes,
asking relief in their sickness, assistance in their voyages, and
protections in all the events of life" (pp. 15-16).
The certainty of finding what is sought in the novenas is assured
in reference to Saint Roque. "The exercise of this novena," it is
said (p. 3, Novena, Manila, 1910), "offers us a means of compelling
(obligar) this glorious saint to secure of God what we ask." To
be rid of epidemics--which has its origin in the corruption of
the air--we must have recourse to San Roque with fervent prayers"
(p. 3). By the side of the corpse of the saint a letter was found
which was supposed to have been written by God, which reads: "Those
afflicted with plague who implore the favor of Roque will find health"
(p. 5). The intervention of Saint Roque is exclusively in favor of
the Catholics. Who so makes his novena says the following:
"I implore thee that by the merits of this glorious Saint, thou freest
us all who assist to this cult and to all the Catholics of the Kingdom
of Spain and of these Islands of all pestilential diseases which might
take away our lives" (p. 13). Since the Catholics of the United States
are not included here, the Bureau of Health ought to remember that
such citizens together with those who are not Catholics who inhabit
the Philippines do not enjoy the anti-pestilential protection of
Saint Roque.
Superstition and Crime
In his notable study on Criminal Anthropology of the Philippines,
Dr. Sixto de los Angeles (p. 119) says:
The easy credulity fomented by the over-development of
religious fanaticism, has constituted from the beginning to
this day one of the defects unfortunately so widespread still
among the native inhabitants of the country * * *. Devoted
to their inherited traditions and customs and lacking in
adequate opportunities to acquire proper knowledge, the mass
of the people have to adhere as it is logical and natural,
to their beliefs, which by their not requiring any effort to
understand are imbedded and deeply rooted in a spontaneous
manner in their minds. As it is shown in our annals of the
judiciary, superstition occupies a notable place among the
factors of criminality in this country.
The superstitions to which Doctor de los Angeles alludes are not only
those of the old paganism of the Filipinos which the missionaries
after more than three centuries have not succeeded in completely
eradicating. The superstitions referred to in this work are those
brought here by the same missionaries, and which they have easily
succeeded in implanting in the conscience of the Filipinos naturally
disposed to credulity by means of the efficient and generous
distribution of the novenas and other booklets of devotion.
Since until the coming of the Americans the instruction in the
Philippines was always and exclusively religious, and was directed
by the Roman priests, the persistence of these old superstitions are
evident proofs of the failure of religious education. As an excuse
missionaries will perhaps attribute this to the invincible rudeness
of the Filipinos, which we shall admit for courtesy's sake and to
avoid discussions. But what is all-important is not that they were
unable to take out something (of the superstitions), out of the
supposed hardheadedness of the Indio, but the tremendous wealth of
superstition which for more than three centuries these missionaries
inculcated (han hecho penetrar) in that same head to the detriment
of his mentality and his morality.
Lack of Will
The sinner lacking in will to control his evil deeds says to Jesus,
washing his hands in the divine intervention and giving proof of his
lack of due sense of responsibility: "Is it possible, sweet Saviour
of souls, that, converting so many every day, alone in my perdition,
thou mayest show thyself indifferent?" (p. 13). This is a part of a
prayer made by no less a person than His Holiness, Pope Gregory VII,
in his Devout Exercise of the Passion of Christ, Manila, 1905.
It is said also to the Virgin: "Cleanse, thou Immaculate Virgin, my
heart of all sin and take away from me all that may be unpleasant in
thy purest eyes! Purge my soul of all earthly love and affections"
(pp. 10-11, Corona Franciscana de la Virgen María, Manila, 1902).
By the intercession of Saint Francis, the devout one asks of God that
"I completely subdue my disorderly passions, powers, and senses,"
so "that I may subject my thoughts, measure my words, and direct my
work to the greatest perfection," and "that thou mayest soften the
hardness of my heart" (pp. 18, 20, and 21 of the Novena of Saint
Francis de Asis, Manila, 1905).
Frightened by the machinations of Satan the devout one to Saint
Filomena asks (p. 23, Novena): "She obtains from the Lord that which
destroys more and more the powers of my enemies, the devils, and that
I be saved in spite of myself."
The guidance of Saint Filomena is invoked by saying (p. 25, Novena):
"See to it that I also be chaste according to my station, and that
my mouth will not utter those words which according to St. Paul,
should not be said among the faithful."
To Saint Anna, mother of Mary, the devout one says: "Interest
thyself therefore, my Saint, that I may be granted patience in my
adversities, tolerance of wrongs, and, in everything, a tranquil mind"
(Novena, Manila, 1893, p. 10). Also the following prayer is directed:
"Put forth therefore your effort, my Saint, with thy sacred grandson,
Jesus, that every imperfection and bad desire may be taken from our
hearts, that we may pardon for love of God all wrongs."
It is not possible to cultivate a sense of dignity or self-respect
itself when doctrines are disseminated such as these, which result
from the following examples in the Novena of Santa Rosa de Lima.
Carried by her humility, she made a mere servant step on her lips
(p. 10). "She loved ridicules more than worldly honors" (p. 102). * *
* and she desired so much that all others considered her the worst in
the world, that she merited being in hell, and that it was her proper
place because of her sins. If any body happened not to know her and
that she was considered innocent, she would say "nobody knows me,
I alone know what I am" (p. 11). "Hearing once that they praised her
as being virtuous she felt so bad that she fainted" (p. 11).
In a prayer to Saint Filomena (Novena, p. 16), it is said to the
saint asking her protection: "My sins made me less than angels,
very inferior to the beasts, since these do not forget the manger of
their master, and in their own way they are grateful for their food,
and I have forgotten the house of God * * *." Not only self ridicule
comes out of these things, but lack of logic in attributing to the
gratitude of the beasts their return to their manger, when it is
clear that the motive that prompts them is simply hunger.
The Ire of God
The natural phenomena are looked upon thru ignorance as manifestations
of the divine wrath which would not have taken place if no one among
humanity had not provoked them by their conduct. Saint Thomas Aquinas,
who with reason is considered as the most scientific man of his
period, believed firmly that the thunder, lightning, and the storms
were punitive manifestations of God enraged against men. "From his
fear of God, the saintly doctor had an unearthly fear of thunder and
tempests, who as a reverent child feared to see wrath in the face of
the Father, hoping only that those tempests were not provoked by his
sins" (Milicia Angélica, Manila, 1907, p. 21).
The blind fear of Saint Thomas led him to conceive a blind justice
of the divinity, because of his sins God released the tempests and
gave lightning which naturally hurt and molested a great number of
persons who suffered by reason of the sins of the saint. To the simple
believer, when the wise saint thought and believed in that manner,
there was no reason for rejecting the explanation, much less to
suspect that to punish justly the sinners was not an act of justice
nor of common sense.
Lack of Logic
Logical mentality cannot be developed when the absurd is fomented and
cultivated, especially when it is presented under the false veneer
of religion, when it is founded on a purely puerile and simple
superstition.
In the life of Saint Vicente Ferrer, according to his novenas, the
following miracles are referred to, and there is no doubt that he
who believes in them cannot really cultivate the faculties of his
intelligence.
In Valencia a servant of Count de Faura, who was born deaf and
without tongue, was that way for many years, and adoring one
day the miracle of Saint Vicente, was cured of his deafness,
his tongue grew, and thenceforward spoke (p. 17).
A woman gave birth to a piece of meat (pedazo de carne) without
a human aspect. It was offered to Saint Vicente giving a mass,
and at the Epistle, it already had head; at the Gospel, it
had arms; and at the Consecration, it had legs, and finally
a beautiful child was evolved. The same happened with another
woman of Toledo (p. 34).
In Lisbon there lived a woman well-known for being quite
ugly and was the object of ridicule on the part of all who
saw her. She went to San Vicente and one morning she became
very fortunate and beautiful, from which the women of Lisbon
became so devout to San Vicente that those in Valencia did
not excel them (p. 27).
A merchant left once for a fair and meanwhile the wife
committed an indiscretion (una fragilidad) for which she
remained * * *. She came and appeared repentant to San Vicente
and the same went to the road whereon the husband returned
with some horses, and startled them by means of a cloak and
thus dispersed them. Then the husband lost time to gather his
horses so that when he returned to his house his wife had time
to flee from him, thus saving herself from the consequences
of her fault.
Thus with the greatest freedom an immoral and grotesque act is related
in which the innocent husband is left out and takes no step to have
just punishment meted, and the saint with his cloak commits a deviltry
only fit for urchins of the brook.
It is said that San Ramon takes such a deep interest in the misfortunes
and pains of his devotees, and is so extremely compassionate "that his
images perspire thru the affliction of his devotees" (p. 12). "An image
of the Saint perspired so copiously at one time that a devout woman
suffered and the veil with which she covered herself was stained;
and some handkerchiefs wet in his perspiration relieved headaches
marvelously" (p. 21).
Saint Roque has the power of stopping the spread of epidemics. "His
protection is what preserves us from plague and other sufferings or
diseases, which, having their origin in the corruptions of the air,
which should conserve our life, causes death" (p. 3).
The Height of Absurdity
Is it possible to invent or suppose greater absurdities than those
here mentioned? Nevertheless, in order not to prolong this address,
I shall only present a few of the cases which are cited in abundance
in these little booklets (opusculos), distributed in great profusion
among our people. What logic, what reasoning can we expect of minds
nurtured with such absurdities, fed up with fakes of such puerile
nature that one can hardly believe them to have been narrated by men
of simple common sense?
The mattress where San Vicente died has become possessed
of the virtue of making miracles; by merely lying on it on
different occasions over 400 sick persons afflicted with
various diseases became well (p. 32).
One time when San Antonio de Padua preached on the seashore it happened
"that the fishes to whom he preached came out of the water and heard
him with all attention." No devotee ever doubts the coming out of
fishes, nor does he interests himself in the solution of the physical,
physiological, linguistic, and especially logical aspects of such an
event, but the Novena to the Saint confirms it so (p. 20).
This lecture would be unduly prolonged if I were to mention all
the absurdities that appear in the Novenas of which I have quite a
collection, which constitute a real array of documents of positive
usefulness for the history of the superstition which I have scarcely
touched upon here. With what has been said there is enough to explain
the origin of the immorality, the real cause of the predisposition
to vice, the absence of a sense of responsibility, the natural
explanation of what incomprehensible character formed of a mixture of
sentiments which the missionaries have contributed to the Filipino,
Indio, Spaniard, and Chinese, all influenced by the injurious spirit
which pervades all that literature which is completely antagonical to
reason. Such, and not the lay education, is responsible for this evil.
I am not here to formulate theories or to speak of a capricious
hypothesis. Before an audience such as this which I have the
honor to address, I need to weigh the value of my words and of my
judgment. For this reason I have cited facts, repeating the exact
words, not of the profane literature composed of the anonymous Corridos
whose detrimental influence is well known, but the authentic texts of
Novenas authorized by the ecclesiastical censorship for not containing
anything contrary to sane morals, as it is said in the permits granted
for their printing.
Nor have I thought for a moment of mixing religion in my criticism; nor
is it in my power to vary the results or consequences that may result
from the facts mentioned in the Novenas, which are the literature
responsible for this state of puerile mentality, absolutely inadequate
for an understanding of morals, composed of matter that paralyzes,
rather than bring out, progress.
Morals is nothing but the triumph over one's self, thru which man
does what he should and not what he wishes. In the immoral man there
is no struggle between two tendencies, one against evil and the
other against good. There is only the instinctive tendency; there
is no rational control in opposition. What mastery over self does a
man have who for the purpose of controlling his habit of dirty and
obscene speech seeks the intervention of a saint? Lacking in will,
dispossessed of any idea of struggle with himself, how can he triumph
over himself? Slave to his own passions it might have seemed that
the only thing that might control him was the punishment in store in
future life; but this fear does not preoccupy him in the least since
at the same time that he is threatened with eternal fire he is told
the manner of evading it without ceasing to do evil.
Immorality of the Novenas
These Novenas contain pernicious teachings for society whose moral
foundation consists in the development of the individual qualities
such as industry, fulfillment of duty, respect of law, struggle with
one's own instincts and passions which require above all else the
mastery over one's self. Not only are these social obligations not
taught nor mentioned but there is a real stimulus toward all that
is bad, assuring to the criminal, to the sinner, that he will be
pardoned, that he will be free from punishment, that however badly
he may act and however sinful he may be, without the least effort,
with the greatest ease and naturalness, he will obtain what he wishes
and will triumph on earth as well as in the other life.
On the other hand, the individual is terrorized by the influence of
evil, always tending to push him on to the road of vice and ignominy;
he is inspired with blind confidence by placing on his side a Guardian
Angel who never leaves night and day, who supports him, who guides
him "his (the Guardian Angel's) intervention being so useful that he
modifies that which we asked of God when he knows that our petitions
might bring us some spiritual or bodily ill."
What idea of justice can one conceive when he remembers the spectacle
that was witnessed by that gentleman in the cemetery of Cuzco? Not
only are Mary and Joseph presented as interceding with all energy for
the salvation of the criminal for the mere reason that he invoked
their names, but they remain unmoved and do nothing to soften the
cruelty of Jesus Christ when He condemns to sudden death and eternal
condemnation the two unfortunate sinful women. They did not invoke the
name of Mary and Joseph who only seem to have pity on their clients and
work with the same partiality of a Nacionalista or Democrata demagogue.
And what significance does a law have which does not admit nor
prosecute polygamy when so many virgins are wives of Jesus who expect
the other life in order that they may deliver themselves to Him as
their husband? What about Mary, wife of the Father, of her own son,
of Joseph, and Saint Domingo?
Mr. Ignacio Villamor in his report to the Committee on Infant
mortality, written when he was Attorney-General, refers to various
cases of murder of persons considered as bewitched and as such were
sacrificed for being fanatics.
The lad of Trayguerra who assailed the ugly woman for mistaking
her for the devil himself after hearing a sermon of San Vicente,
is absolutely of the same nature as those possessed of the asuang
referred to by Mr. Villamor.
And what shall be said of the protection of San Isidro invoked by
the agriculturists? He gave an example of neglect of his duties as a
farmer, because instead of plowing the land, doing the work for which
he was paid by his master, he spent the day praying. Thru a miracle,
an angel took hold of the plow, guided the bulls while the saint prayed
and did not work. And right here in our midst, confident in San Isidro,
the people of the field sleep, hoping that the angels shall do the
work for them! How can you condemn laziness when the angels protect
it? And how can you preach the doctrine of "earning bread by the sweat
of your brow" when the labor that sweat presupposes is unnecessary?
Without connection whatsoever with the Bureau of Education of the
Government of the Philippine Islands, I have spoken in the manner
that I have just done, not to defend the lay schools of an unjust and
unjustifiable accusation; not to attack any persons or any religious
or political ideals, but to contribute to the eradication of one of
the bases, one of the strongest causes of criminality, of corruption,
of formation of individuals who are useless and detrimental to society:
superstition. And, gentlemen, it is not a superstition that is only
to be laughed at. Not by any means. It is a ridiculous and even
absurd superstition, it is true, but it is a tragic and dangerous
because it offers to the wicked, the criminal, the imbecile, the
means of triumphing in life, of obtaining what they want, giving
them the means of avoiding punishment, making fun here on earth of
the justice of men, and securing from God the pardon from eternal
condemnation thru the simple means of invoking the name of a saint,
or thru the medium of a Latin word which, acting as a sort of open
sesame opens wide to the devotee the gates of heaven.
The Lamentable Error of the Bishop of Cebu
The prelate who accused the public schools in the form above mentioned
has committed a lamentable error. For my part, I can say that the
accusations awakened in me a desire to investigate the causes of
immorality and of the perversion of customs which the said prelate,
and we with him, all regret. According to those who have studied
the mentality of the majority of our people, it is evident that
superstition is the enemy which we all have to combat and that is
the cause of many of the moral errors which we observe. The regular
friars as well as the secular clergy confess that the mass of the
people still finds itself subject to the superstition inherited from
our predecessors--the superstition which could be called genuinely
Philippine, that which comes from the old belief in the nunu, in the
asuang, the anito and all the spirits of the old idolatry preached
before the implantation of Catholicism by the Spanish missionaries.
Failure of the Missionaries
According to their own confessions, these missionaries, after three
centuries of preaching, have failed to eradicate those superstitions
incrustated in the conscience of the people. We must accept their
declaration as a faithful recognition of the failure of their
religious mission. I am not interested in, nor do I discuss,
the religious point of view, but the importance of superstition
in social life, its pernicious influence upon the evolution of
morality. What undoubtedly results from the narratives contained in
that literature which constituted the only reading of the people is
the promotion of ignorance spreading in a very effective manner all
the superstitions aforementioned and adding to them a wealth of errors
which unfortunately governs the mentality of the mass of the people.
Not only the so-called Indios the ones concerned; the sons of the
Spaniards of pure blood or those mixed with Indios as well as the
Chinese mestizos are also accused of these superstitions. All these,
all of us Filipinos, are included among the individuals infected with
the leprosy of superstition fomented by the absurd miracles of the
Novenas and it cannot be said that it is an evil particularly of the
Filipino race but also the inhabitants of the Philippines in general.
In order that education be useful it has to form in the individual
the sense of responsibility thru the free exercise of reason. The
fulfillment of duty shall be its objective and in order to obtain
this goal, it is highly necessary to develop the will in man with
which he shall fight the animal instincts, the sentimental impulses,
all that is contrary to the dictates of reason.
Logical mentality (mentalidad lógica), to know what we should do and
to enable us to plan out a just route that we should follow; will
(voluntad) to enable us to exalt the dictates of reason above the
impulses of our own desires: such is the object of lay education,
the education in the so-called godless schools, here in the schools
of the Government as in the college of Beata Imelda directed by the
Dominican fathers under the norm of Japanese ideas translated in
imperative laws, situated in Taihoku, capital of Formosa.
The reading of the so-called miracles of the type that I have before
cited makes the impossible appear possible, thanks to mysterious
influences which are easy to secure, not thru industry, but simply thru
unworthy and low means and reproved by good morals such as humiliation,
adulation, and propitiation. A benefit is not asked or expected thru
some positive good that we do, thru fulfillment of duty out of which
results a positive good which is a right; resort is had by means
of favor, by gaining the benevolence of a saint, making him believe
that he is liked, adored, and admired, seeking to exalt his vanity
and, thru his mediation, gain the good will of God, not as a benefit
conferred directly to him who asks, but in consideration of the merits
of the mediator. Nothing can be imagined that is more immoral, more
primitive, more contemptible. The celestial court turns out to be a
court more corrupt than those of the autocrats condemned by history:
the court of the Khans, the Sultans, the Bysantine Emperors, Mungols,
Persians, Tartars, all the barbarians who have abused humanity and
who have personified injustice and justified revolution and massacres.
A society whose members expect everything thru favoritism does not
know what emulation is; when an individual finds a means as simple
as that offered in the Novenas to secure what he desires following
the line of least resistance, does not resort to the exercise of any
noble activity, and, consequently, cannot perfect his faculties nor use
them; an individual who expects to attain the absurd and improbable
cannot know the existence of immutable laws which rule the universe;
the individual who expects to secure what he wants thru the medium
of a celestial patron cannot conceive the God of Justice nor can he
really be a useful member of society.
Favor, propitiation, exception, protection, grace, preference,
predilection, are incompatible with what a God should be, with the
Ideal of civilization, with the supreme aspiration of humanity which
is Justice.
Disastrous Results
Those who believe in the absurd miracle (milagrería absurda), protector
of the fools, accomplice of the lazy, of the gamblers, of thieves,
of all who, thru its means, seek to secure what they desire--those
are the criminals that fill our jails and who die in the gallows;
those are the ones, who, armed with their anting-anting, talisman,
rosary, scapulary, bones of saints, or shark's teeth, fight with
the police, commit outrages, upset order, confident in their triumph
because of the protection of their celestial pintakasi. Such is the
product not of the schools without god but of god without schools,
impossible and paradoxical, whose power manifests itself in capricious
methods and in the exercise of prestidigitation. Those individuals
are in truth the natural products of that superstition preached,
diffused, and presented to the ignorance of people who have come
to the point of fearing neither God nor devil and who know that the
infernal punishment only is meted to him who does not wear a rosary
around his neck or does not confide in a pintakasi, who guarantees
eternal salvation because God does not permit that the worshiper of
one of His devotees be condemned.
What kind of citizen can an individual be in society who laughs at
punishment using the easy means of a celestial lawyer. How can terrors
of hell infuse fear in him when he knows that thru the medium of a
powerful lawyer, God finds himself obliged (forzado) to pardon him. And
when a man knows the way of evading divine justice, it is clear that,
in order for him to escape human justice, he will resort to appealing
to the mercy of the judge, to evade compliance with the law, to the
non-fulfillment of any duty, and to live only to enjoy his rights;
he will resort, in dealing with human authorities, to the use of the
same methods of propitiation, adulation, prevarication, humiliation,
and deception which dominated the same God and triumphed over the
power of the devil!
Never will it be possible for a superstitious man, especially if he is
of the type that we have just analyzed, become a useful citizen. Such
is the type which unfortunately is the product of an education of
three centuries...!
The parochial schools (escuelas religiosas) have given their fruit;
the lay schools (laicas) have also borne fruitage. The youths who
graduate from the latter are undoubtedly not without defects; but they
are not poisoned or forever led astray by that brutalizing superstition
sown by native and foreign impostors. None of those youths will assail
ruthlessly an ugly old woman mistaking her for a devil; he will not
dream of flying in the air launched like a balloon by an army of
devils. None shall believe that a piece of meat shall be transformed
into arms, legs, and heads as a mass offered to a pintakasi progresses;
much less can such youth conceive a Jesus Christ that would weaken
at the sight of a chest that his mother Virgin Mary would show to
remind him of his weak memory of God would forget; nor will he excuse
himself of a wrong committed against a companion of the other sex on
the pretext that he does not have with him the girdle of the Angelic
Militia; much less will he believe that, in spite of a criminal life,
he will be able to secure eternal salvation provided only he has
taken the precaution of repeating at every turn the invocation of
the so-called Trinity on Earth.
That lay education will not produce individuals who trust in protection
or recommendation to progress and triumph on earth. The lay education
is wholly democratic and will not be capable of committing the same
faults of those who, by not following their education, seek to employ
in the affairs of life those means recommended in the Novenas in
order to obtain what is desired by means of the help of the powerful,
secured by means of requests, protestations of love, and promise of
eternal devotion.
That mental conformation created by the diffusion of this superstitious
spirit is an obstacle, an insuperable barrier set up against the
development of the moral sense. We shall sow principles of morality
as the farmer who sows in the fields the seeds properly selected which
will not grow unless the soil is adequate. Sane morals is founded upon
the basis of reason; when this foundation is lacking, the moral taught
will be like a tree that is rootless and lifeless. It is not possible
that a school without god (escuela sin Dios) or the one with god can
make the seed of morals grow upon a soil prepared by the school of
superstition, of magic, and of sorcery. We have to prepare the soil
cultivating reason and creating the logical sense.
I will only insist on things which only need to be presented before
our common sense to be judged as they merit.
The Public School
Permit me now to express first of all my gratitude to the Assistant
Director, Mr. Osias, who had the kindness to honor me with an
invitation to speak at this conference. Now, I wish to express to
you my thanks for your kind attention. Lastly, I desire to make one
declaration: Every time I referred to the new generation, I did not
want to mention only the youth educated in the lay schools of the
Government, but all the youth educated in modern ideas, all the men
and women of whatever age who, throwing aside the weighty burden of
the Legacy of Ignorantism (Le gado del Ignorantismo), have accepted
modern ideas, have modified their mentality, have been modernized,
thanks to the example of, and the contact with, the representatives of
American democracy. All the change, all the economic, moral, social,
and political transformation effected in the Filipino people, and which
none denies nor anyone can deny, reveals progress, and that progress is
not the result of the Legacy of Ignorantism but the natural consequence
of the régime of liberty, industry, work and logical mentality which
governs our public schools and orients our social life.
To the Department of Education, to all the teachers of both
sexes--Americans and Filipinos--I express my profound gratitude
for the splendid manner in which they are complying with the duty
entrusted to them by America and by the Philippines.
NOTES
[1] Ignorantism, the spirit of those who extol the advantage of
ignorance; obscurantism.
[2] Translated from Spanish.
[3] Of the one hundred fifty-six books which the censorship of the
Manila Customs refused entrance because they are obscene, five were
printed in French and one hundred fifty-one in Spanish. In English,
it is known, no obscene literature is found.
[4] From the Bishop of Cebu, dated November 19, 1919.
[5] This book was printed in 1844. Today, in the year 1920, the
seventh edition of the Rueda is sold in Manila and is used in some of
the private schools. This edition is a reprint of the original edition
without any correction so that in history Japan is not even mentioned,
France is a kingdom, Prussian is separated from the rest of Germany;
and in Spain, Isabela II is the one who still happily reigns. This
is the famous book recommended by the priest who was interested in
extending instruction in the Philippines.
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