Chapter 8

Noli Me Tangere Published in Berlin (1887)

At the time when the novel is ready for printing, he ran out of fund. He contacted
his friend, Maximo Viola, who agreed to lend him money for publishing. According to
accounts, Rizal is about to throw Noli manuscripts to the fireplace when he received
Viola's telegram agreeing for lending him.Viola gave him an amount equal to three
hundred pesos as preliminary payment for the first 2,000 copies of Noli. In 1887, the first
edition of Noli was published in Berlin, Germany. To express his gratitude, he gave the
original manuscript plus the plume he used to Viola. Rizal also signed the first print and
gave it to Viola with dedication.

This is a chapter that describes the country's lack of progress during those
days. Rizal allows the reader to concretely visualize the scenes and looks of the native
towns, and is actually one of his greatest contributions to the history and heritage of
Manila.There are a lot of passages in this chapter, that abstractly define the principles to
be lived by in the ancient day and age, as well as in today's modern times."The come to
our lands searching for gold, and you go to theirs to look for the gold that we need." This
passage explains that while Spaniards hoard the gold of the land, Filipinos should also
travel to Spain and get an education abroad in order to acquire the wealth of
knowledge."But keep in mind: Not all that sparkles is gold." This was told to continue the
passage above, to suggest that not all that Spain teaches is right and true. One must
learn to choose only to remember knowledge that is useful and valuable. Noli Me Tangere
is considered to be romantic but more socio-historical because of its nature. Most of the
issues discussed in Noli can be seen today, actually.

After publication, Noli me Tangere was considered to be one of the instruments

that initiated Filipino nationalism that led to 1896 Philippine Revolution. The novel does
not only awakened sleeping Filipino awareness, but also established the grounds for
aspiring an independence. Noli was originally written in Spanish, so the likelihood that
Spanish authorities will read it first is very high–which, Rizal actually wanted to happen.
Copies of books were redirected to churches, many have been destroyed, many anti-Noli
writers came into the picture, Catholic leaders in the Philippines that time regarded the
book as heretical, while Spanish colonial authorities declared it as subversive and against
the government. Underground copies were distributed, so Rizal decided to increase the
price, the demand is so high.