One should not say, "I and my sisters greet you," but "My sisters and I greet you." Always you have to put yourself last. You should say: "Emilio and I," "You and I," "My friend and I," and so on. For the rest, your letter is well written. In it you express your thoughts clearly. You use only the necessary words, and your spelling is good. Keep on advancing. Learn, learn and think much about what you learn. Life is a very serious matter. It goes well only for those who have intelligence and heart. To live is to be among men, and to be among men is to strive. But this strife is not a brute-like, selfish struggle,--nor with men alone. It is a strife with men, and at the same time with one's own passions. It is a struggle with the proprieties, with errors, with prejudices. It is a never-ending striving, with a smile on the lips and the tears in the heart. On this battlefield, man has no better weapon than his intelligence. He possesses no more force than he has spirit. Bring out your intelligence, then, and improve it. Strengthen and educate yourself that you may be prepared for the struggle. FILIPINO PROVERBS The Proverbs and the Puzzles were published, with comments here omitted, in Truebner's Oriental Magazine, London, June and July issues of 1889. Rizal's own English. 1. Low words are stronger than loud words. 2. A petted child is generally naked (i. e. poor). 3. Parents' punishment makes one fat. 4. New king, new fashion. 5. Man promises while in need. 6. He who believes in tales has no mind of his own. 7. The most difficult to rouse from sleep is the man who pretends to be asleep. 8. Too many words, too little work. 9. The sleeping shrimp is carried away by the current. 10. The fish is caught through the mouth. FILIPINO PUZZLES He carries me, I carry him.--The shoes. A deep well filled with steel blades.--The mouth. RIZAL'S DON'TS Condensed from the regulations of the Philippine League (Liga Filipino), a co-operative economic society which Rizal organized in Manila just before his deportation, in 1892. DON'T gamble. DON'T be a drunkard. DON'T break the laws. DON'T be cruel in any way. DON'T be a rabid partisan. DON'T be merely a faultfinding critic. DON'T put yourself in the way of humiliation. DON'T treat anyone with haughtiness or contempt. DON'T condemn anyone without first hearing his side. DON'T abandon the poor man who has right on his side. DON'T forget those who, worthily, have come to want. DON'T fail those without means who show application and ability. DON'T associate with immoral persons or with persons of bad habits. DON'T overlook the value to our country of new machinery and industries. DON'T ever cease working for the prosperity and welfare of our native land. HYMN TO LABOR