Letter to Blumentritt (13 April 1887)
“
Is it not sad, I said to my countrymen, that we have to learn from a foreigner about ourselves? Thanks to the German scholars we get accurate information about ourselves, and when everything in our country has been destroyed and we wish to verify the historical correctness of certain facts we shall have to come to Germany to search for these facts, in German museums and books!
— José Rizal
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Is it not sad, I said to my countrymen, that we have to learn from a foreigner about ourselves? Thanks to the German scholars we get accurate information about ourselves, and when everything in our country has been destroyed and we wish to verify the historical correctness of certain facts we shall have to come to Germany to search for these facts, in German museums and books!" in the context of "Letter to Blumentritt (13 April 1887)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "José Rizal" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About José Rizal
José Rizal (June 19 1861 – December 30 1896) or known as José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was a Filipino nationalist, doctor, writer, and polymath whose works and martyred death made him a hero of the Philippine Revolution. His mother was Teodora Alonso and his father is Francisco Mercado. Rizal studied highschool at Ateneo De Manila University and then went to University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He did his post graduate work at the University of Madridin 1882.
About José Rizal
José Rizal (June 19 1861 – December 30 1896) or known as José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was a Filipino nationalist, doctor, writer, and polymath whose works and martyred death made him a hero of the Philippine Revolution. His mother was Teodora Alonso and his father is Francisco Mercado. Rizal studied highschool at Ateneo De Manila University and then went to University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He did his post graduate work at the University of Madridin 1882.
View all quotes →