Be truthful and honest in thought and action. Be just and charitable, courteous but dignified. In your dealings with your fellow-men

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Part of Code of ethics submitted to the president of the Philippines

Title: Be truthful and honest in thought and action. Be just and charitable, courteous but dignified. In your dealings with your fellow-men
Language: English
Source: Code of Ethics submitted to the President of the Philippines
Year: 1940
Rights
Fulltext: tue of the fearless and faultless knight, becau'Se the habit of protecting the hono1· and life of the weak and defenseless is certainly an indication of big-heartedness and nobility of soul. And let it be remembered t,\Iat this virtue is not a simple necessity of the legendary era of romanticism, but one of the great necessities of the life of nations, becau•se if the woman finds simple i·espect and consideration within the sphere in which she habitually moves, she soon acquires that sense of dignity that saves her from many a weakness, which dignity, transmitted to her children, inspires · them with courage and vigor for great undertakings, for acts of heroism .. " Rizal knew that honor is nurtured by the virtue of womanh0od and he minced no words in impressing his countrymen with this idea in his letter to the young women of Malolos. He said: "A peop.Je that res,pects woman, like the Filipino people, must know the truth of the situation in order to be able to do what is expected of it. It seem'S an established fact that when a young student falls in love, he throws everything to the dogsknowledge, honor, and money, as if a girl could not do anything but sow misfortune. The bravest youth becomes a coward when he man·ies, and the born coward becomes shameles'S, as if he had been waiting to get married to show his cowardice. The son in order to hide his pusillanimity, remembers his mother, swallows his wrath, suffers his ears to be boxed, obeys' the mo'St foolish order, and becomes an accomplice to his own dishonor. It should be remembered that where nobody' flees, there is no pursuer; when there is no little fish, there cannot be a big one. Why does not a girl require of her lover a noble and honored name, a manly heart offering protection to her weakness, and a high spirit incapable of seeing her 'Satisfied with engendering slaves? Let her discard all feu, let her behave noblv and not deliver her youth to the weak and faint-hearted. 'When she is married, she must aid her husban~, iTispire him with courage, share his perils, refrain from causing him worry and sweeten his moments of affliction, always remembering that there is no grief that a brave heart cannot bear and there is· no bitterer inheritance than that of infamy and 'Slavery. Open your children's eyes so that tthey may jealously guard their honor, love their fellow-men and their native land, and do their duty. Always imp1·ess upon them that they must prefer dying with honor to living in dishonor. The women of Sparta should serve as· an example in this. In the nobility and chivalry of Rizal, Jacinto, Del Pilar and Mabini, \Ye learn that honor is .as valuable, if not more so, than life itself. And in the · sterling integrity of Palma and Araullo, the lesson i'S brought home to us with telling force that to be poor but honorable is a thousand times better than amassing all the riches in the world at the cost of one's good name. We should strive, therefore, to keep our reputation unblemished to the end of our days, and ever bear in mind that an honore<! name is the most precious legacy which we can leave to our children and our children's children. "A good name is rather to be desired than great riches and loving· favor than silver and gold." VIII. BE TRUTHFUL AND HONEST IN THOUGHT AND ACTION. BE JUST AND CHARITABLE, COURTEOUS BUT DIGNIFIED, IN Y 0 UR · DEALINGS WITH YOUR FELLOW-MEN. Character is life dominated by principles. Truthfulness, honesty, charity, justice and courtesy are the · qualities that round up a real man or woman. These are the virtue~ that giv,e force and worth to the race. Be truthful.-We should not only tell the truth but we should al•so welcome it. Only by knowing the truth are we able to correct our defects and shortcomings. Rizal realized this in his dedication of his Nole Me Tangere: "TO MY COUNTRY: Recorded in :he history of human sufferings is a cancer of so malignant a character. that the least contact arouses in it the most acute pains. Now then, every time, in the midst of modern civilization, I have wished to evoke thee, now to keep me compapy with thy memories, now to compare thee with other .countrie'S, so often did thy dear image appear to me with a similar social cancer. "Desiring thy welfare, which is our own, and seeking the best treatment, I shall do with thee what the ancients did with their · patients: they exposed them on the steps of the temple 'So that every one who should come to invoke the Deity might suggest them a remedy. "And to this end, I shall attempt to reproduce faithfully thy condition, without considerations; I shall lift a part of the veil that cloaks the evil, sacrificing to tryth everything, nay self-esteem itself, since, PAGE 12 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW SUPPLEMENT as a ~on of thine, I likewise have thy sh6rtcomings and weaknesses." In his letter to his friend, Dr. Blumentritt, enclosing one of the first copies of the book, he said: "The novel tells of many things that until now have not been touched upon. They are so peculiar to ourselves that we have been 'Sensitive about them. In this book I have attempted what no one else seems to have been willing . to do. For one thing, 1 ! have· dared to answer calumnies that for centu1'ies have been heaped upon µs atid our country. I have- written cf the social condition of the Philippines and of the life of. the Filipinos. I have told the truth about our beliefs, our hopes, our longings, oUr complaints, and our sorrows. I have tried to 'Show the difference between' real religion and the hypocrisy that under its cloak has impo\'erished and brutalized us. I have brought out the real meaning of the dazzling and deceptive words of our countrymen. I have related our mistakes, our vices, our faults. I have exposed how weakly we accept miseries as inevitable. Where there has been reason for it, I have given praise. I have not wept over our misfortunes, but rather laughed at them. "No one would want t'o read a book fuU of tears, and then, too, laughter is the best means of concealing sorrow. "The incidents that• I have related are all true and have actually occurred." In his dissertation on the character of Rizal, Dr. T. H., Pardo de Tavera observed: "If . he had not been a fervent disciple and inve·stigator of truth, he would never I/ave had all the· beautiful moral qualities which we have mentioned and which like self-control, constancy, firmness of opinion, for example, can not exi'St unless one has first worshipped at the shrine of truth." It is necessary to maintain ·a i·eputation for truth, because once it is lost or impaired it is not easily regained. Re honest.-Honesty is always the best policy. Ignacio Villamor, in his Industrious Men, mentions Lorenzo Guerrero of Manila who "was so honest that he never wished to enter into any business which would cast the faintest shadow upon his immaculate honor. He was so active, so dutiful, that at times even if he was indi'Sposed, he gave at his home lessons in drawing and painting. He. abandoned them only five days before his death which occurred on April 8, 1904. He was so punctual in the performance of his duties that he made it a point to arrive at the house of his pupils five minutes befol'e the le·sson hour. More than with words he made use of exemplal'y practice to preach honesty and industry to his ohildren." One proof of the moral integrity and conscientiousness· of Lorenzo Guerrert(' was his refusal to ac~ep_t professional fees; unles·s he had ea1·ned them. Villamor also mentions Esteban Villanueva _who, by the use of correct measures in his store, was ·able to su1·vive in competition with Chinese merchants, which success laid the foundation of one of the largest fortunes in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. With l'egard to the good faith and honesty of the early Filipinos, a Chinese trader wrote in the 14th century that after the Filipinos and the traders had agreed upon the price, the ,former were allowed to take away the goods and to bring their native products in exchange later. The traders trusted them for they never failed to live up to their stipulated bargains. B e .iusO and charitable.- In Bonifacio's enumeration of the Duties of the Sons of the People, the eighth precept enjoin'S: "In so far as it is within thy power, share thy means with every indigent or unfortunate person." The Kartilla of Jacinto went farthel', its sixth rule being "Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor." This theme Jacinto elaborated in his essay on Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness), under the heading Ang Pagibig (Love), a.s follow'S: "Of all human sentiments, none is more sublime than love-love for the fellowman. Without it, the peoples would disappeal' from the earth and the communities, the associations, and life itself would resemble the dry leaves of the tree swept a way by the wind. For its sake, the greatest deeds are performed and one's own life and well-being sacrificed. But rascality and fraud reap their harvest under the guise of love, hiding their ferocious selfishness behind an infinitesimal ~uantity of. charity. "The compassion fo1· . our fellow-beings who are the victims of misfortune, which impels us to 'Share with them what little is ours; the solicitude and even boldness which we show in the defense of the rights of the oppressed, and true charity for our fellow-men, from what source do they spring but from love ?" THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW SUPPLEMENT PAGE 13 Pedro Cui of Cebu was not content with helping the poor and contributing liberally to the cause of the Revolution during his life time. On his death, he donated one-half of hi's fortune valued at 6ne million pesos to the Ho~picio de San Jose of Earili, which still exists to give refuge, food and clothing to invalid ' natives of Barili, Dumangas, -Ronda, Alcantara, Moalboal, Carcar, Aloguinsan, Pinamufigahan, Toledo, Balamban, all of 1 the province ef Cebu; and to maintain permanently three fe1lo\vships for poor students of both ·sexes ,; ho are · natives of Cebu; one in the Cebu Hfgh School, anotller in the College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines, and the other in the School 9f Pharmacy of the 'Same Unive1·sity. In the University of the · Phjlippines, ,there also exist several scholarships for poor students, notable among which are the Limjap scholarships in engineering and the , Bailon-De la Rama scholarships in medicine and other profes'Sions. . Charity is manifested in kind deeds by men whether endowed or not with material wealth. In the Katipunan Prime,., we are told that, "To do good for some personal motive and not because of a true desire to do good is not virtue." As Jacinto exp·ressed it, "From love and helpfulness for our fellow-men spring sincerity and charity, that beautiful flower of the heart, that gentle and sweet balm of the unfortunate." Be oourteous but dignified.- Ignacio Villamor said: "Courtesy gains all and costs nothing. This is a truth especially applicable to our country where everything can be obtained through politeness; that is, where the manner counts far more than the strength. Often, good words spoken with • kindness convince better than good argument1s uttered with arrogant petulance. "Courtesy, politeness, right conduct are those acts which make our relations ·with our fellow-beings pleasant. They are the expressions of good education, and good education is just .as essential to the man of high position a!s it is to the ordinary man as well as to everyone else who lives in society." It is · simple courtesy and not slavishness for the people to show respect and consideration for the men whom they themselv~s have elevated to high positions in the government. As Jacinto tersely puts it, "Do not let anyone believe that the equality proclaimed is contrary ·to the respect due all authority governing the people; no, this preeminence, which was created .by the people, the people respect; but the representative of the authOrity, as a man, is a man just like the rest." IX. LEAD A CLEAN AND FRUGAL LIFE. DO NOT INDULGE IN FRIVOLITY OR PRETENSE. . BE SIMPLE IN YOUR DRESS AND MODEST IN YOUR BEHAVIOR. Cleanlines's is next to .godliness. Life 1 is more than a gift,-it is a trust which we must not ·abuse. We owe it to our 'C1·eator to conserve life and that we can do only by observing clean habits, both o:l\ mind and body. Cleanliness is closely associated with frugality. Frugality means the simple . life, -both physically and moraily. In its material a'Spect', it means bodily health· and ~on servation of wealth and energy. From the spiritual standpoint, it means modesty of conduct, cleanliness of thought and speech, refinement of taste and behavior. ' Rizal amply demonstrated this two fold development. When he was a boy he was sickly, but his. uncle Manuel developed his physique until he had ·a supple body of silk and 'steel although he .did not entirely lose his somewhat delicate looks, According to Retana, "Rizal .altliough slim in build, and with an appearance that did not show g'reat energy, yet showed extraordinary vigor and dexterity. From the time he was a child he was given to gymnastics which he perfected during his stay Jn Japan. From that time on he became some sort of an acrobat and daily exercised according to Japanese methods. He was well-to-do but he did not waste his time in frivolity, because it would undermine not only his health but also his character. In comparing him with other youths who .went to Europe, Tavera said: "The young men who leftl the Philippines to go to Em·ope did. so in compliance· with the will of their elders when they undertook · the voyage for educational pmposes, or on th'eir own initiative when their purpose was to see the world and have a good time,. Rizal desired to go to ' Europe \n order to educate him·self, to become mo1·e useful to his people. He was not moved by the wish to have a good time .and to enjoy . life." In a letter to Mariano Ponce dated at L0ndon, June 27, 1888, Rizal expressed a • becoming modesty PAGE 14 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW SUPPLEMENT
pages: 12-14