diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

ONCE MORE THE NOLI—WITH UNDERSTANDINGJose S. Arcilla, S. J.GENERAL OBSERVATIONSWith few exceptions, Rizal wrote explicitly propaganda. Hisstyle, therefore, was that of the debater or the polemicist, with all its vices andvirtues. His essay, Filipinas dentro de den afios, for example, has all theprolixity and exaggeration, the ornateness and overstatement of the fanaticalpamphleteer or professional agitator. In contrast, his Sobre la indolencia delos filipinos is more moderate and does not have as much literaryembellishment as the first. It is because in the second essay he does not haveto prove anything, but merely assert the facts. But his style changes wheneverhe writes about the friars in the Philippines—his "obsession"—and then hissharp pen is devastating. When it comes to them, Rizal tends to overgeneralize,missing no opportunity to caricature them with gusto.Undoubtedly abuses were rife in the Philippines in the time of Rizal. Buthis sweeping condemnations seem unnatural. They seem to prove too much,a tactic we call today "overkill." But to say that in his works the national heroWas a nationalist who used innuendo and extreme statements is not to takefrom them their essential truth. Style is one thing, content is another, and thetwo must not be confused. Propaganda, like commercial advertising, must bedemythologized to be properly understood. So also Rizal's novels must beproperly read; otherwise, one misinterprets his mind.One must also bear in mind that Rizal wrote in nineteenth-centurySpanish. Unless one is at home in that florid and romantic language, he isliable to miss the author's intent. Being polemical, Rizal's writings were notscientific historical studies which demand a more disciplined and sparsestyle, free from literary flairs and florid phrases that betray emotion ratherthan thought. Still what he wrote are documents of vital historicalsignificance. Properly interpreted, they contain information not at allvalueless.183