MARCELO H. DEL PILAR, INITIATOR OF THE KATIPUNAN
"Aside from what we have said, it is very correctly stated that Andres Bonifacio ordered Teodoro Plata to draw up the statutes of the Katipunan, and that he did this with the aid of LadislaoDiwa and Valentin Diaz. After the statutes had been discussed, Andres Bonifacio, with the concurrence of Deodato Arellano, submitted them to Del Pilar for approval. Upon the latter's letter approving the statutes, Andres Bonifacio used the same for the purpose of gaining adepts. This is the letter so often quoted by many authors in order to show that Del Pilar was the founder of the Katipunan and especially, as we have said, by General Blanco, who transcribed a large portion of it in his Memoria in order to justify his policy of attraction and proclaim per irivios et plateas that Marcelo H. del Pilar was the most intelligent, the real soul of the separatists, very superior to Rizal." -EPIFANIO DE LOS SANTOS* ---------------------------
--------- Madrid, November 3, 1894. SR. D. JOSE REYES TOLENTINO AND COMPANIONS OF [THE LODGE] LA MODESTIA, Manila. MY VERY BELOVED FRIENDS: "I have your favored letter of August 8th, ultimo, received on October 9, last, with a copy of the esteemed favor of Sr. Salazar and the second of exchange No. 13,829, payable to my order, of which I acknowledged receipt by return mail, promising to make a more complete reply. In compliance with that promise, I begin by thanking you again for the moral and material support extended by you to this campaign, of which I happen to be the head. I have never felt my unfitness for this task so much as now, when the events are demonstrating the transcendency of this grand and noble undertaking. The victories that we have carried off in the opinion of the people and also within the official sphere; the modification that it has wrought in our customs, considering the headway made by the tendency, not platonic, but real and effective, towards active and militant collectivism; the rectification, if not total, yet at least gradual and progressive, of many prejudices that have formed themselves here, inspired by the friars: these and other results which I am unable to detail here, but which have come about almost imperceptibly since we first began to give signs of life in the political world and to show indubitable symptoms of aspirations towards a better government, seem to encourage all Filipinos to continue upon the road chosen; seem to tell us that here is the finger of God pointing out to us the way to our redemption, seem to be a reward for our strong and ardent faith. Unfortunately, however, judging by what you deign to communicate to me in your letter of July 23rd, as this campaign is progressing, instead of our force increasing, the few already constituted seem to be dispersing. The aloofness of some, the indifference of others, "most of them wealthy people," as the letter says, create an immense void around our cause. A justification of this indifference you find in the motives designated in the letter, among them the mistrust caused by the conduct of Panday. But, without wishing to have you believe that I intend to discuss your wise observation in any manner, allow me to say that where you see justification, I see nothing but motives for grief. Whether the mistrust is justified or unjustified, it is always sad to see it carried to such an extent as to include persons who do not deserve it; and, as a final result, the mistrust and the withdrawal of the mistrustful harms only our own cause and strengthens that of our oppressors. When despite the immense power of our enemies we have all seen the impotence of their efforts; when their best weapons, prison and proscription, were wielded to no purpose, without their succeeding in weakening the tenacious impetus of our campaign, does it not seem sad to you, does it not make you weep tears of blood, that we should now owe our defeat to those who should prevent it? Oh! if I only had the forces represented by the potent elements which have chosen to give themselves over to indifference, for reasons which I, of course, respect, I can assure you the blows from behind would not make me bow my head. But, since we must take things as they come and as we are able to take them, I believe the principal thing is to have faith, great faith, in the cause of our redemption. Faith removes the barriers which have separated the peoples and nations of the universe with mountains and seas; why should it not remove also the barriers raised by differences of opinion or judgment on the part of those compatriots, who do not cease to be bound to us by the interests of our common fatherland and the rigors of our common misfortune? If, upon separating from us, they would join the privileged classes of the country; if they could only escape the contempt, the dishonor, under which our country is living, ill served by her own people and tyrannized over by foreigners, then we might, perhaps, have to renounce the hope of causing them to reconsider their inactivity and indifference. But, whatever their way of thinking may be, the fact is that inasmuch as we all bear in common the evil that strikes at the root of the liberty and honor of our country, it is just that neither they nor we should look for a remedy for that wound to foreign elements, such, for instance, as... the Chinaman Palanca. Why should we look to the Chinaman Palanca for our redemption, if we have a sufficient sense of shame and dignity to secure it ourselves, providing we are determined? This is what we think, and this is what they must also think, because it would be an insult to attribute to them any other thoughts. They will again favor us with their valuable assistance, because just and honorable men could not conscientiously turn a deaf ear to the call of the honor and dignity of their country. In the meantime, what we must do is to double our efforts to conceal the gaps in our ranks; we are but few now; though we may have to act like I ferociromani, let us hide the absence of the valuable elements that have deserted us, because the void they have left not only weakens us, but is a disgrace to us and a disgrace to all. They will come back, and we must wait for them. But let us go on while we wait, and let us not hesitate in our onward march, even though the road be full of thorns and thistles; the immense misfortune of our country certainly merits that small sacrifice. You deign to encourage me to devise a plan of organization in order to reform our thinned ranks. This is a favor which you are doing me and for which I am grateful, or an illusion inspired by your benevolence, which my insufficiency will cause to disappear. I think you have an abundance of good organization over there. That which we had when Montilla was president was good; that developed during Felipe Leal's term was good and excellent, and that communicated to me subsequent to the date of the letter which I am now answering, under the direction of the present president, is not less excellent. What you need over there, in my opinion (you will pardon me if I am mistaken, because God knows how little I desire to err in what I am going to tell you), what you need, I repeat, is not directive plans, but habits of dirigibility, that is, habits of collective life, of discipline with regard to the powers carried by your votes, of mutual benevolence as regards our fellow-believers, without mental reservations apt to injure the mutual affection which should exist between all. "Think evil and you will hit it right," says a Spanish proverb; this rule of mistrust we may very well apply to our relations with enemies or persons to whom we are not bound by ties of affection; but with friends, fellow-believers, and brethren it is a destructive rule which renders mutual affection and respect impossible, and where these do not exist, no organization is possible and a scattering of forces is inevitable. Am I mistaken? If I am, forgive me. I merely utter my opinion and am ready to correct it if it is a mistaken one. "But whether this belief be correct or mistaken, it will be useful to fix our attention upon the necessity which I have indicated. If it does not remedy an existing evil, it will prevent the same in our campaign. Incipient societies are wont to suffer of the defect that I am pointing out, and we have a sad illustration of this in the valiant sons of Cuba who, not having foreseen it, wasted blood and money. The great heroism displayed by the Cubans has been rendered fruitless by mistrust and disunion, mutual defamation and irreconcilability; they knew how to fight and die, but not how to vanquish, when victory would have been easy for them if they had not entered the struggle divided and even antagonistic to each other. Oh! let us take a lesson; let each of us sacrifice himself on the altar of harmony, because he who can not vanquish himself, can not vanquish his enemies. Let us take a lesson, for God's sake, because whether we will or not, something of the most vital importance to us is at the stake in this humble and modest campaign, namely, the happiness of our country. No? God grant it! Condemn immorality; this is good and just; is there any doubt of it? But I believe that immorality should never be presumed; that accusations of immorality must not be based upon mere suspicions, mere conjectures, gossip, and slander. It is necessary to get the certainty, and, besides, to demonstrate the truth of it, or at least to explain it in such manner that a person may rely upon the justice of his judgment. Besides, it seems to me that a person who condemns immorality should not separate himself from the collectivity: his retirement does not represent the condemnation of the person guilty of the immorality; it is the condemnation of the collectivity, that is, of the victim of the immoral act. Is this just? Is this fair? Is it worthy of a man of conscience and valor to condemn the victim and acquit the offender? On the basis of these considerations, I prepared and sent over there a plan, not of organization, but of documentation, in order to show the morality of our administration and to prevent unjustified accusations from being uttered. It seems, however, that the new organization has no need to resort to this means in order to guarantee its invulnerability, of which I am glad. I have taken up enough of your time and conclude by repeating that I appreciate your kindness and that we hope you will succeed in leading into useful channels, for the best of humanity in general and of our country in particular, the currents of fraternity with which our social atmosphere is impregnated. In the meantime, receive, each and all of you, the testimony of the affection which, with his fraternal embrace, sends you your obedient servant, etc. -MARCELO H. DEL PILAR _________________ SOURCE: Epifanio De Los Santos, ''Marcelo H. delPilar'' (PLARIDEL) Revista Filipina [The Philippine Review] Manila. 1930 __________________ P.O. — with King Cortez.
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