The Kartilya ng Katipunan served as the guidebook for new members of the organization, which laid out the

group's rules and principles.

The first edition of the Kartilya was written by Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto will later pen a revised Decalogue.

Decalogue of the Katipunan

Originally titled Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Z. Ll. B. (Duties of the Sons of the People) It was never published because Bonifacio believed that Jacinto's
Kartilya was superior to what he had made.

1. Love God with all your heart.

2. Bear always in mind that the love of God is also the love of country, and this, too, is love of one's fellowmen.
3. Engrave in your heart that the true measure of honor and happiness is to die for the freedom of your country.
4. All your good wishes will be crowned with success if you have serenity, constancy, reason and faith in all your acts and endeavor.
5. Guard the mandates and aims of the K.K.K. as you guard your honor.
6. It is the duty of all to deliver, at the risk of their own lives and wealth, anyone who runs great risks in the performance of his duty.
7. Our responsibility to ourselves and the performance of our duties will be the example set for our fellowmen to follow.
8. Insofar as it is within your power, share your means with the poor and the unfortunate.
9. Diligence in the work that gives sustenance to you is the true basis of love—love for your self, for your wife and children, for your brothers and
countrymen.
10. Punish any scoundrel and traitor and praise all good work. Believe, likewise, that the aims of the K.K.K. are God-given, for the will of the people is also
the will of God.

“Kartílya ng Katipúnan” ang popular na tawag sa akda ni Emilio Jacinto na naglatag ng mga batas at prinsipyo ng Katipunan
at nagsilbing gabay para sa mga kasapi nitó. May katulad ding akda si Andres Bonifacio na pinamagatan namang “Katungkulang Gagawin ng
mga Z.Ll.B.” ngunit ipinasiya niyang ang isinulat ni Jacinto ang ikabit sa sinusumpaang kasulatan ng magiging kasapi ng Katipunan. Ang orihinal
na pamagat ng “Kartilya ng Katpunan” ay “Mga Aral ng Katipunan Ng Mga Anak ng Bayan” at hinahangaan noon ar ngayon dahil sa matalinghaga
ngunit eksaktong pormulasyon ng mga tuntunin sa buhay na dapat sundin ng isang Katipunero. Ang unang pangungusap nitó: “Ang kabuhayang
hindi ginugol sa isang malaki at banal na kadahilanan ay kahoy na walang lilim kundi man damong makamandag” ay tila isang kredo hinggil sa
paglilingkod sa bayan at sa kapuwa tao.
Mapapansin sa “Kartilya ng Katipunan” ang tuntuning moral at etiko na nais pairalin sa Katipunan bilang tunay na kapatirang Filipino. Idinidiin
nitó ang pag-ibig sa kapuwa at pagtutulungan, ang paniniwala sa katwiran, at ang pag-iingat sa dangal at puri bilang tao. Gayunman, taglay din nitó
ang pangunahing mga simulaing demokratiko, gaya ng pagkakapantay ng tao anuman ang kulay ng balát, antas ng kabuhayan, at pinag-aralan.
Ipinangangaral din nitó ang mataas na pagtingin sa kababaihan at ang mabigat na tungkulin ng lalaki na alagaan ang asawa at anak. Sa dulo, iginiit
ang pag-ibig sa kalayaan at ang kahandaan ng kasapi na ihandog ang sarili para sa bayan. Wika nga ni Jacinto, ang “kamahalan ng tao” ay
tinitimbang alinsunod sa “magandang asal, may isang pangungusap, may dangal at puri” at lalo na”y “di napaaapi’t di nakikiapi,” at “marunong
magdamdam at marunong lumingap sa bayang tinubuan.” (KLL)

Kartilya ng Katipunan

Emilio Jacinto
Mga Aral nang Katipunan ng mga A.N.B.
1. Ang kabuhayang hindi ginugugol sa isang malaki at banal na kadahilanan ay kahoy na
walang lilim, kundi damong makamandag
2. Ang gawang magaling na nagbubuhat sa pagpipita sa sarili, at hindi sa talagang nasang
gumawa ng kagalingan, ay di kabaitan.
3. Ang tunay na kabanalan ay ang pagkakawang gawa, ang pagibig sa kapua at ang isukat
ang bawat kilos, gawa’t pangungusap sa talagang Katuiran.
4. Maitim man at maputi ang kulay ng balat, lahat ng tao’y magkakapantay;
mangyayaring ang isa’y higtan sa dunong, sa yaman, sa ganda; ngunit di mahihigtan sa
pagkatao.
5. Ang may mataas na kalooban inuuna ang puri sa pagpipita sa sarili; ang may hamak na
kalooban inuuna ang pagpipita sa sarili sa puri.
6. Sa taong may hiya, salita’y panunumpa.
7. Huwag mong sasayangin ang panahun; ang yamang nawala’y magyayaring magbalik;
nguni’t panahong nagdaan na’y di na muli pang magdadaan. Value of time
8. Ipagtanggol mo ang inaapi, at kabakahin ang umaapi.
9. Ang taong matalino’y ang may pagiingat sa bawat sasabihin, at matutong ipaglihim
ang dapat ipaglihim.
10. Sa daang matinik ng kabuhayan, lalaki ay siyang patnugot ng asawa’t mga anak; kung
ang umaakay ay tungo sa sama, ang patutunguhan ng iaakay ay kasamaan din.
11. Ang babai ay huag mong tignang isang bagay na libangan lamang, kundi isang
katuang at karamay sa mga kahirapan nitong kabuhayan; gamitan mo ng buong
pagpipitagan ang kaniyang kahinaan, at alalahanin ang inang pinagbuhata’t nagiwi sa
iyong kasangulan.
12. Ang di mo ibig na gawin sa asawa mo, anak at kapatid, ay huwag mong gagawin sa
asawa, anak, at kapatid ng iba.
13. Ang kamahalan ng tao’y wala sa pagkahari, wala sa tangus ng ilong at puti ng mukha,
wala sa pagkaparing kahalili ng Dios wala sa mataas na kalagayan sa balat ng lupa; wagas
at tunay na mahal na tao, kahit laking gubat at walang nababatid kundi ang sariling wika,
yaong may magandang asal, may isang pangungusap, may dangal at puri; yaong di
napaaapi’t di nakikiapi; yaong marunong magdamdam at marunong lumingap sa bayang
tinubuan.
14. Paglaganap ng mga aral na ito at maningning na sumikat ang araw ng mahal na
Kalayaan dito sa kaabaabang Sangkalupuan, at sabugan ng matamis niyang liwanag ang
nangagkaisang magkalahi’t magkakapatid ng ligaya ng walang katapusan, ang mga
ginugol na buhay, pagud, at mga tiniis na kahirapa’y labis nang natumbasan. Kung lahat
ng ito’y mataruk na ng nagiibig pumasuk at inaakala niyang matutupad ang mga
tutungkulin, maitatala ang kaniyang ninanasa sa kasunod nito.
The Katipunan Code of Conduct
1. The life that is not consecrated to a lofty and reasonable purpose is a tree without a
shade, if not a poisonous weed.
2. To do good for personal gain and not for its own sake is not virtue.
3. It is rational to be charitable and love one's fellow creature, and to adjust one's
conduct, acts and words to what is in itself reasonable.
4. Whether our skin be black or white, we are all born equal: superiority in knowledge,
wealth and beauty are to be understood, but not superiority by nature.
5. The honorable man prefers honor to personal gain; the scoundrel, gain to honor.
6. To the honorable man, his word is sacred.
7. Do not waste thy time: wealth can be recovered but not time lost.
8. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor before the law or in the field.
9. The prudent man is sparing in words and faithful in keeping secrets.
10. On the thorny path of life, man is the guide of woman and the children, and if the
guide leads to the precipice, those whom he guides will also go there.
11. Thou must not look upon woman as a mere plaything, but as a faithful companion
who will share with thee the penalties of life; her (physical) weakness will increase thy
interest in her and she will remind thee of the mother who bore thee and reared thee.
12. What thou does not desire done unto thy wife, children, brothers and sisters, that do
not unto the wife, children, brothers and sisters of thy neighbor.
13. Man is not worth more because he is a king, because his nose is aquiline, and his
color white, not because he is a *priest, a servant of God, nor because of the high
prerogative that he enjoys upon earth, but he is worth most who is a man of proven and
real value, who does good, keeps his words, is worthy and honest; he who does not
oppress nor consent to being oppressed, he who loves and cherishes his fatherland,
though he be born in the wilderness and know no tongue but his own.
14. When these rules of conduct shall be known to all, the longed-for sun of Liberty shall
rise brilliant over this most unhappy portion of the globe and its rays shall diffuse
everlasting joy among the confederated brethren of the same rays, the lives of those
who have gone before, the fatigues and the well-paid sufferings will remain. If he who
desires to enter (the Katipunan) has informed himself of all this and believes he will be
able to perform what will be his duties, he may fill out the application for admission.
[translation by Gregorio Nieva, 1918]
Sometime in 1896, Andres Bonifacio, the father of the Philippine Revolution, and once the President of the Supreme Council
of the Katipunan, penned the Duties of the Sons of the People, a list of the duties and responsibilities to be followed strictly
by every member of the organization. The rules constituted a decalogue, and embodied Bonifacio’s passionate beliefs.

In admiration of Emilio Jacinto’s literary style, Bonifacio would later adopt Jacinto’s Kartilya as the official teachings of the
Katipunan. Similar to the Decalogue, the Kartilya was written to introduce new recruits to the principles and values that
should guide every member of the organization.

In the lead-up to the sesquicentennial of Andres Bonifacio’s birth, the Presidential Museum and Library shares Bonifacio’s
Decalogue, a reminder of the nation’s inherent solidarity and of our people’s strength—a reminder rendered timeless as we
begin rebuilding in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda.

From the official program for the inauguration of the Bonifacio Monument in 1933.