Noli Me Tangere

This article is about Dr. Jose Rizal,a National Hero of the Philippines and notably the Bahay Kubo or Nipa Hut in the garden of his house. Presented by Knight Commander Rizal, Professor Sir Dr. Tan Man Ho (October 30, 2013)

^{^{Dr. Jose Rizal (Jose Protacio
Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda),

a Filipino nationalist, a writer, a doctor, a scientist, a patriotic
revolutionary, an artist and foremost a National
Hero of the Philippines. Rizal was a contemporary of Ghandi,
Tagore and Sun Yat Sen who also advocated liberty through peaceful means rather than by violent
revolution. Coinciding with the appearance of those other leaders,
Rizal from an early age had been enunciating in poems, tracts and
plays, ideas all his own of modern nationhood as a practical
possibility in Asia. Although his field of action lay in
politics, Rizal's real interests lay in the arts and sciences, in
literature and in his profession as an ophthalmologist.
Shortly after his death, the Anthropological Society of Berlin met
to honor him with a reading of a German translation of his farewell
poem and Dr.Rudolf Virchow delivering the
eulogy. During his exile, he became a noted biologist, having
discovered rare animal species, notably the Philippine Gliding Lizard
He sent specimens secretly to Europe and even proposed a binomial
name for the creature (which is still used today). Rizal also
tried his hand at painting and sculpture. His most famous sculptural
work was The Triumph of Science over Death, a clay sculpture of a
naked young woman with overflowing hair, standing on a skull while
bearing a torch held high. The woman symbolized the ignorance of
humankind during the Dark Ages, while the torch she bore symbolized
the enlightenment science brings over the whole world. He sent the
sculpture as a gift to his dear friend Ferdinand Blumentritt,
together with another one named "The Triumph of Death over Life".}

^{He wrote numerous poems in his
lifetime. One of his Poems known as "Memories of My Town" describes
his childhood life in his home town at Calamba, Laguna in the
Philippines and his house, by the shore and the murmuring cool
lagoon, is scented by the flowers in the forest woods carried to the
simple home by the breeze. It was the memories of simple life
of his home town - deeply reflecting the desire, the fun, the joy,
the peace and the repose in his meditation.

In the garden of his house is a Bahay Kubo or Nipa hut (see replica
images below) where Rizal used to spend his day as a child and a
statue of Rizal as a boy - an added attraction made by Dudley Daiz
for the 1996 Centennial Celebration.}}

^{^{Memories
of My Town}} ^{^{When I recall the days

That saw my childhood of yore

Beside the verdant shore

Of a murmuring lagoon;

When I remember the sighs

Of the breeze that on my brow

Sweet and caressing did blow

With coolness full of delight;

When I look at the lily white

Fills up with air violent

And the stormy element

On the sand doth meekly sleep;

When sweet 'toxicating scent

From the flowers I inhale

Which at the dawn they exhale

When at us it begins to peep;

I sadly recall your face,

Oh precious infancy,

That a mother lovingly

Did succeed to embellish.

I remember a simple town;

My cradle, joy and boon,

Beside the cool lagoon

The seat of all my wish.

^{^{Oh, yes! With uncertain pace

I trod your forest lands,

And on your river banks

A pleasant fun I found;

At your rustic temple I prayed

With a little boy's simple faith

And your aura's flawless breath

Filled my heart with joy profound.

Saw I God in the grandeur

Of your woods which for centuries stand;

Never did I understand

In your bosom what sorrows were;

While I gazed on your azure sky

Neither love nor tenderness

Failed me, 'cause my happiness

In the heart of nature rests there.

Tender childhood, beautiful town,

Rich fountain of happiness,

Of harmonious melodies,

That drive away my sorrow!

Return thee to my heart,

Bring back my gentle hours

As do the birds when the flow'rs

Would again begin to blow!}}

^{^{But, alas, adieu! E'er watch

For your peace, joy and repose,

Genius of good who kindly dispose

Of his blessings with amour;

It's for thee my fervent pray'rs,

It's for thee my constant desire

Knowledge ever to acquire

And may God keep your candour!

Dr. Jose Rizal's Poem}}}}

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