diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

ordering on admiration, sufficiently clear in his intimate writings, likeletters and diaries. Can one explain in a convincing manner this cleardichotomy traceable in Rizal's life and works? Do we have the details thatcan help clarify the reality of this double current of contradictory emotions inthe greatest hero of the Malay race? We have already tried to explain theorigin of Rizal's positive vision of the founder of the Franciscan order. Butwhy did he entertain such an aversion for his followers?Lorenzo Perez, 0. F. M., in the only place apparently where he raises theproblem of Rizal's deep-seated prejudices against the Franciscans and theirpossible causes, fmds the answer in one of the interviews between theFilipino writer and Governor General Despujols in June and July 1892immediately before the former's exile to Dapitan:Before Rizal was exiled to Cavite [sic], General Despujols had a meeting withhim and asked him to state the cause of the Filipinos' dissatisfaction with thefriars. To this Rizal replied: "The haciendas." "Well," replied Despujols, "theFranciscans do not own haciendas. Why do you hate them too?" "Because theyare Spaniards," Rizal answered."I am unaware of the truth of this interview supposedly held betweenDespujols and Rizal, or until what point an intelligent researcher like LorenzoPerez could accept as satisfactory this alleged reply, which to me is rathersuperficial, of the no less intelligent Filipino writer and statesman. Anyway,the testimony of the well known Franciscan Philipinologist, Rizal'scontemporary, would prove only one thing, namely, that already at that time,Despujols, and perhaps many others besides, could not appreciate the hero'sparadoxical posture before the poorest and least influential religious order inthe Philippines, the Franciscans.As far as I know, no biographer has discussed this problem, not even somuch as to advert to it..36 Certainly there have been efforts to seek a logicalexplanation for the aversion to the friars in general which one detects inpractically all of the writings of Rizal. But even if studies on the issue whichhave hitherto been published do not seem to provide a clear, definitive andobjective answer to such an important problem, still they can help indirectlyto understand this subject better.Jesus Ma. Cavanna y Manso, C. M. offers a preliminary explanation.According to him, Rizal must have undergone a change in his way of thinkingbecause of a series of complex factors, among which we can mention thefollowing: bitter incidents and conflicts between his family and somemembers of the religious orders; offenses and misunderstandings due to real132