The Intimate Alliance Between Religion And Good Education

• In 1876, Rizal started writing poems on various topics: wars, childhood memories, education and religion
• Summer of 1876 before entering his fifth year in Ateneo Municipal
• Jose Rizal wrote this poem to show the importance of religion in education

As the climbing ivy over lefty elm
Creeps tortuously, together the adornment
Of the verdant plain, embellishing
Each other and together growing,
But should the kindly elm refuse its aid
The ivy would impotent and friendless wither
So is Education to Religion
By spiritual alliance bound
Through Religion, Education gains renown, and
Woe to the impious mind that blindly spurning
The sapient teachings of religion, this
Unpolluted fountain-head forsakes.
*creeps tortuously- moves slowly and carefully with full of twists and turns

SUMMARY

• Stanza 1
-Rizal compared the relationship of Education and Religion to an IVY and ELM TREE Ivy=education; Elm=religion

“embellishing each other and together growing”
Embellish- to make something more attractive “but should the kindly elm refuse its aid, the ivy would impotent and friendless wither”
God = source of all good! **Rizal believed that “Education without God is not true education”

• Stanza 2
– explains that after all the sacrifices and difficulties in studying, it will lead and give us a bountiful harvest and success in life. -it takes time to grow and learn but soon we get to harvest the fruits of our hardships all these will all be worth it.

“education will lead us to greener pasture”

• Stanza 3
Education without religion is compared to A vessel struck by winds and lost at sea “helm deprived” – nothing controls the vessel

• Stanza 4
Dew- truth
Truth strengthens and nourishes a person’s education “if religion holy nourishes education with its doctrines , she shall walk in joy and generosity toward the good” With the aid of religion, education will be used for the common good, and not only will you gain knowledge, you will also gain virtues

INSIGHTS
• Just like an ivy and elm, education and religion fit together, and they need one another.
• The second stanza talks about what went through in studying, that it may be difficult for us to learn, but as we grow and of course take God with us, it will lead us to success in life
• Education without religion is worthless because all the knowledge you’ve learned is not used for the common good.