diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

On 25 January 1884, he notes in his Diary:Today I finished reading The Wandering Jew. This novel is one of those whichseemed to me better conceived, fruits only of talent and meditation. That ofLamartine does not address the heart. He forces himself, dominates, confuses,subjugates, but he does not move to tears. I do not know if it is because I am hardhearted.It reminds me very much of Los Mohinos de Paris 10It would be interesting if one could fathom the possible influenceexercised by this classical work of the age of romanticism on Rizal's novel.Before starting enumeration of the authors and works which seem to havehad greater weight on the composition of the Noli, I wish to remark that I amfollowing a chronological order of the publication of these sources (exceptsections 12, 13, 16 below), even if it may obfuscate the total picture, for weshall conclude with a composite view towards the end of this essay.1. Rafael Maria de Labra y Cadrada, La Cuesti6n Colonial—Cuba-Puerto Rico—Filipinas. Madrid, 1869Rafael Maria de Labra was born in La Habana, Cuba in 1841 or 1843,where his father, a liberal-minded military career man from Asturias, headedthe Galicia regiment. Sent to Cadiz when he was ten years old, Rafael went toschool in Madrid, studied law, obtaining a sobresaliente in all his subjects.But he soon dedicated himself to newspaper work, and became involved inpolitics, activities he did not abandon until he died in 1910. Heenthusiastically supported the September 1868 Revolution, and joined theRadical Party, fighting without quarter for the autonomy of the Spanishcolonies in the Antilles and the abolition of slavery there, for which hefounded and headed the Abolitionist League. He also actively collaborated in ,the establishment of the Institucion Libre de Enserlanza, was president of theAteneo de Madrid, and published numerous books and articles on the mostvaried topics:"Labra came into contact with the Philippine pmblematique of the secondhalf of the nineteenth century almost certainly through the work of theRegidor brothers, Antonio Maria and Manuel who, by 1869 were already inSpain playing a principal role in the campaign to obtain a series of reforms forthe land of their birth. Apparently, Labra must also have had a distant relativein the Philippines. Anyway, by 1869 he published the work we mentioned inwhich entire chapters and many paragraphs analyze the socio-politicalsituation of the Philippine Islands, with suggested reforms he believed mostnecessary. The ideas he expounded could not be his; rather and logically, theymust have been suggested to him by the Regidor brothers still unknown tohim.68