José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, aka Jose Rizal, was born on June 19, 1861. He was a great nationalist, polymath, and a well-known national hero of the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. May these inspirational Jose Rizal quotes encourage you and allow you to learn more about his heroic acts that will positively inspire you.
1. “He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination.” – Jose Rizal
2. “There are no tyrants if there are no slaves.” – Jose Rizal
3. “In the Philippines you are not considered to be honorable unless you have been to jail.” – Jose Rizal
4. “On this battlefield man has no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force but his heart.” – Jose Rizal
5. “But because their ancestors were men of righteousness, shall we consent to the abuses of their degenerate descendants? Because they did us a great good, would we be guilty if we prevented them from doing us evil?” – Jose Rizal
6. “The whys and wherefores didn’t need to be said. If you are reading this have ever loved someone, you will understand. Putting it into words is useless. The uninitiated cannot understand the mysterious.” – Jose Rizal
7. “Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness and ends with shame.” – Jose Rizal
8. “The glory of saving a country doesn't mean having to use the measures that contributed to its ruin.” – Jose Rizal
9. “Our liberty will not be secured at the sword's point. We must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it. And when the people reaches that height, God will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards, and liberty will shine out like the first dawn.” – Jose Rizal
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Jose Rizal")
10. “He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish.” – Jose Rizal
11. “I don't see why I should bow my head when I could hold it high, or place it in the hands of my enemies when I can defeat them.” – Jose Rizal
12. “People believe that madness is when you don't think as they do, which is why they take me for a madman.” – Jose Rizal
13. “To be happy does not mean to indulge in foolishness.” – Jose Rizal
14. “Genius knows no country, genius sprouts anywhere, genius is like light, air. the patrimony of everybody, cosmopolitan like space, like life, like God.” – Jose Rizal
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Jose Rizal")
15. “It is not the criminals who arouse the hatred of others, but the men who are honest.” – Jose Rizal
16. “When a people holds onto its language, it holds onto a semblance of freedom, like a man who holds onto his independence when he retains his own way of thinking. Language is the thought of a people.” – Jose Rizal
17. “The people do not complain because they have no voice; do not move because they are lethargic, and you say that they do not suffer because you have not seen their hearts bleed.” – Jose Rizal
18. “We must win when we deserve it, by elevating reason and the dignity of the individual, loving justice and the good and the great, even dying for it.” – Jose Rizal
19. “I have observed that the prosperity or misery of each people is in direct proportion to its liberties or its prejudices and, accordingly, to the sacrifices or the selfishness of its forefathers.” – Jose Rizal
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Jose Rizal")
20. “I have to believe much in God because I have lost my faith in man.” – Jose Rizal
21. “I die without seeing dawn's light shining on my country. You, who will see it, welcome it for me. Don't forget those who fell during the nighttime.” – Jose Rizal
22. “I can concede that the government has no knowledge of the people, but I believe the people know less of the government. There are useless officials, evil, if you like, but there are also good ones, and these are not able to accomplish anything because they encounter an inert mass, the population that takes little part in matters that concern them.” – Jose Rizal
23. “The example could encourage others who only fear to start.” – Jose Rizal
24. “No one blames a pilot who takes refuge in port when the storm begins to blow. It is not cowardice to duck under a bullet; what is wrong is to defy it only to fall and never rise again.” – Jose Rizal
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Jose Rizal")
25. “The righteous man pays the sinner's bill.” – Jose Rizal
26. “A revolution, woven in the dim light of mystery, has kept me from you. Another revolution will return me to your arms, bring me back to life.” – Jose Rizal
27. “When a people is denied light, home, freedom, justice, all the good things without which life is not possible, and which constitute man's patrimony, a person has the right to deal with the people who despoil him, like a thief who assaults us in the roadway. No qualifications, no exceptions.” – Jose Rizal
28. “Let us not ask for miracles, let us not ask for concern with what is good for the country of him who comes as a stranger to make his fortune and leave afterwards.” – Jose Rizal
29. “It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great deal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.” – Jose Rizal
30. “Dying people don't need medicine, the ones who remain do.” – Jose Rizal
More Famous Jose Rizal Quotes
31. “Pure intuitive faith differs as much from fanaticism as fire from smoke, or music from mere noise; those who confuse the two are like the deaf.” – Jose Rizal
32. “For myself I think that one wrong does not right the other, and forgiveness cannot be won with useless tears or alms to the Church.” – Jose Rizal
33. “Let her be loved not only for her beauty and amiable character, but also for her strength of mind and loftiness of purpose, which enliven and raise the feeble and the timid and ward off all vain thoughts. Let her be the pride of her country and let her command respect.” – Jose Rizal
34. “I honor the father in his son, not the son in his father. Each one receives a reward or punishment for his deeds, but not for the acts of others.” – Jose Rizal
35. “In every instance I noted that a people’s prosperity or misery lay in direct proportion to its freedom or its inhibitions and, along the same lines, of the sacrifice or selfishness of its ancestors.” – Jose Rizal
36. “Your enemies hate you more than they hate your ideas. Should you want a project to be undone propose it. Even if it were as useful as a bishop's mire it would be rejected. Once you are defeated let the humblest-looking among you sponsor it and your enemies to humble you will approve it.” – Jose Rizal
37. “We want the happiness of the Philippines, but we want to obtain it through noble and just means. If I have to commit villainy to make her happy, I would refuse to do so, because I am sure that what is built on sand sooner or later would tumble down.” – Jose Rizal
38. “A lie among the stars is a comfortable lie.” – Jose Rizal
39. “Truth does not need to borrow garments from falsehood.” – Jose Rizal
40. “You must know where you are from in order to get where you are going.” – Jose Rizal
41. “Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilizing races. It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest.” – Jose Rizal
42. “One only dies once, and if one does not die well, a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again.” – Jose Rizal
43. “To doubt God is to doubt one's own conscience, and in consequence, it would be to doubt everything; and then what is life for?” – Jose Rizal
44. “Wealth brings with it refinement, the spirit of conservation, while poverty inspires adventurous ideas, the desire to change things, and has little care for life.” – Jose Rizal
45. “Tomorrow at 7, I shall be shot; but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion. I am going to die with a tranquil conscience.” – Jose Rizal
Share these Quotes by Jose Rizal with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.
2. “There are no tyrants if there are no slaves.” – Jose Rizal
3. “In the Philippines you are not considered to be honorable unless you have been to jail.” – Jose Rizal
4. “On this battlefield man has no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force but his heart.” – Jose Rizal
5. “But because their ancestors were men of righteousness, shall we consent to the abuses of their degenerate descendants? Because they did us a great good, would we be guilty if we prevented them from doing us evil?” – Jose Rizal
6. “The whys and wherefores didn’t need to be said. If you are reading this have ever loved someone, you will understand. Putting it into words is useless. The uninitiated cannot understand the mysterious.” – Jose Rizal
7. “Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness and ends with shame.” – Jose Rizal
8. “The glory of saving a country doesn't mean having to use the measures that contributed to its ruin.” – Jose Rizal
9. “Our liberty will not be secured at the sword's point. We must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it. And when the people reaches that height, God will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards, and liberty will shine out like the first dawn.” – Jose Rizal
11. “I don't see why I should bow my head when I could hold it high, or place it in the hands of my enemies when I can defeat them.” – Jose Rizal
12. “People believe that madness is when you don't think as they do, which is why they take me for a madman.” – Jose Rizal
13. “To be happy does not mean to indulge in foolishness.” – Jose Rizal
14. “Genius knows no country, genius sprouts anywhere, genius is like light, air. the patrimony of everybody, cosmopolitan like space, like life, like God.” – Jose Rizal
16. “When a people holds onto its language, it holds onto a semblance of freedom, like a man who holds onto his independence when he retains his own way of thinking. Language is the thought of a people.” – Jose Rizal
17. “The people do not complain because they have no voice; do not move because they are lethargic, and you say that they do not suffer because you have not seen their hearts bleed.” – Jose Rizal
18. “We must win when we deserve it, by elevating reason and the dignity of the individual, loving justice and the good and the great, even dying for it.” – Jose Rizal
19. “I have observed that the prosperity or misery of each people is in direct proportion to its liberties or its prejudices and, accordingly, to the sacrifices or the selfishness of its forefathers.” – Jose Rizal
21. “I die without seeing dawn's light shining on my country. You, who will see it, welcome it for me. Don't forget those who fell during the nighttime.” – Jose Rizal
22. “I can concede that the government has no knowledge of the people, but I believe the people know less of the government. There are useless officials, evil, if you like, but there are also good ones, and these are not able to accomplish anything because they encounter an inert mass, the population that takes little part in matters that concern them.” – Jose Rizal
23. “The example could encourage others who only fear to start.” – Jose Rizal
24. “No one blames a pilot who takes refuge in port when the storm begins to blow. It is not cowardice to duck under a bullet; what is wrong is to defy it only to fall and never rise again.” – Jose Rizal
26. “A revolution, woven in the dim light of mystery, has kept me from you. Another revolution will return me to your arms, bring me back to life.” – Jose Rizal
27. “When a people is denied light, home, freedom, justice, all the good things without which life is not possible, and which constitute man's patrimony, a person has the right to deal with the people who despoil him, like a thief who assaults us in the roadway. No qualifications, no exceptions.” – Jose Rizal
28. “Let us not ask for miracles, let us not ask for concern with what is good for the country of him who comes as a stranger to make his fortune and leave afterwards.” – Jose Rizal
29. “It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great deal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.” – Jose Rizal
30. “Dying people don't need medicine, the ones who remain do.” – Jose Rizal
More Famous Jose Rizal Quotes
31. “Pure intuitive faith differs as much from fanaticism as fire from smoke, or music from mere noise; those who confuse the two are like the deaf.” – Jose Rizal
32. “For myself I think that one wrong does not right the other, and forgiveness cannot be won with useless tears or alms to the Church.” – Jose Rizal
33. “Let her be loved not only for her beauty and amiable character, but also for her strength of mind and loftiness of purpose, which enliven and raise the feeble and the timid and ward off all vain thoughts. Let her be the pride of her country and let her command respect.” – Jose Rizal
34. “I honor the father in his son, not the son in his father. Each one receives a reward or punishment for his deeds, but not for the acts of others.” – Jose Rizal
35. “In every instance I noted that a people’s prosperity or misery lay in direct proportion to its freedom or its inhibitions and, along the same lines, of the sacrifice or selfishness of its ancestors.” – Jose Rizal
36. “Your enemies hate you more than they hate your ideas. Should you want a project to be undone propose it. Even if it were as useful as a bishop's mire it would be rejected. Once you are defeated let the humblest-looking among you sponsor it and your enemies to humble you will approve it.” – Jose Rizal
37. “We want the happiness of the Philippines, but we want to obtain it through noble and just means. If I have to commit villainy to make her happy, I would refuse to do so, because I am sure that what is built on sand sooner or later would tumble down.” – Jose Rizal
38. “A lie among the stars is a comfortable lie.” – Jose Rizal
39. “Truth does not need to borrow garments from falsehood.” – Jose Rizal
40. “You must know where you are from in order to get where you are going.” – Jose Rizal
41. “Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilizing races. It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest.” – Jose Rizal
42. “One only dies once, and if one does not die well, a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again.” – Jose Rizal
43. “To doubt God is to doubt one's own conscience, and in consequence, it would be to doubt everything; and then what is life for?” – Jose Rizal
44. “Wealth brings with it refinement, the spirit of conservation, while poverty inspires adventurous ideas, the desire to change things, and has little care for life.” – Jose Rizal
45. “Tomorrow at 7, I shall be shot; but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion. I am going to die with a tranquil conscience.” – Jose Rizal
Share these Quotes by Jose Rizal with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.