Paris
10 Rue de Louvois, Paris, 2 May 1889
[Mr. Fernando Canon]
MY DEAR FRIEND AND FORMER CLASSMATE,
Excuse me for not having been able to answer soon your friendly letter of the 25 last in which you inform me of such pleasing news as the birth of a son.[1] My change of residence, the affairs of the salon in which I exhibited a bust, and other little pursuits besides, have not left me a free moment for a friendly conversation with you.
Gone are the times when verses gush forth from my pen with the ease of the weed that sprouts form the ground saturated with humus; otherwise I would have greeted the birth of your little one with a Anacreontic,[2] a Sapphic,[3] capable of putting to sleep the little one even in the midst of his crying.
But if that epoch of the Muses has already passed away for us, on the other hand there remains in the heart with the firmness of a rock that resists time and storms a sanctuary where good sentiments are preserved. I truly share your joy, I congratulate you and your wife, I felicitate Spain, because I am sure that Feranandito can only fall heir to the noble qualities and good disposition of his parents, and such citizens do not abound everywhere. Nevertheless, I cannot refrain from expressing to you a certain melancholy upon thinking that this new being in whose veins Filipino blood runs and who will be educated with so much care will afterwards be a lost member for a country that is in need of men. I have the same sentiment when I hold in my arms the son of Luna and Pacita Pardo – he is one French more and one Filipino less. It is true too that the Europeans who go to the Philippines give us their children; but what children, what education, and what love they have for the country! But no one is to blame for this except the country itself which reserves for its inhabitants many things besides malaria, earthquakes, and typhoons.
In the great whirlwind of the world, let each atom look for the best nucleus, let it rise when and where it can! The only thing you can do is to educate well your child and inculcate in him noble and honorable sentiments so that one day, if good luck sends him to the Philippines, he may not be one of so many who exploit the ignorance of the unfortunate, and be one more tyrant to the brothers of his father. All honorable men of the world are compatriots.
May you and your family be happy, may your son be the mirror which reflects your good qualities, and if the Philippines loses a son, at least humanity can gain one.
Many regards to your wife and kiss the little one for me.
May the lechon[4] and dinuguan,[5] sacrificed at his baptism, influence somewhat his tender being like the atmosphere of a distant homeland, like the perfumes of tropical flowers… (see that, from the dinuguan to the perfume of the flowers…!!!)
Yours,
RIZAL
02-391 [Blumentritt V.1]
[1] Fernando Canon married a Spanish woman.
[2] Pertaining to Anacreon, a Greek poet noted for his light and graceful lyrics.
[3] Certain verse forms used by Sappho, a Greek poetess.
[4] Roasted suckling pig.
[5] Chopped sweetbreads seasoned with vinegar and salt and cooked with blood, hence its name dinuguan , a Tagalog term literally meaning “with blood.”