(Written expressly for the exercises celebrating the erection of
the pueblo of Lipa, Batangas, into a villa, but received too late
to be used on that occasion.)--Translation by Charles Derbyshire.
Men:
Now the east with light is reddening,
And to our fields and tasks we fare;
By the toil of man sustaining
Life and home and country there.
Though the earth be hard and stubborn,
And the sun unpitying glow,
For our country and our homes
Love an easy way will show.
Chorus:
For his country in peace,
For his country in war,
Let the Filipino work,
Let him live, let him die.
Matrons:
Go then joyous to your labor,
While the wife awaits you here;
With the children learning from her
To hold truth and country dear.
When night brings you weary homeward
May peace and joy await you there;
But if fate unkindly frown,
She your stubborn task will share.
Chorus:
For his country in peace,
For his country in war,
Let the Filipino work,
Let him live, let him die.
Maidens:
Hail to labor! Blessed be it,
For it brings our country wealth;
May we ever hold it sacred,--
'Tis our country's life and health!
If the youth would win our favor
By his work his faith be shown;
Only he who toils and struggles
Will support and keep his own.
Chorus:
For his country in peace,
For his country in war,
Let the Filipino work,
Let him live, let him die.
Boys:
Show us then the way to labor,--
The road you ope to guide our feet;
So that when our country calls us,
We your task may then complete,
And the old men then will bless us,
Saying: "They are worthy of their sires;
For the dead are honored most
By sons whom true worth inspires."
Chorus:
For his country in peace,
For his country in war,
Let the Filipino work,
Let him live, let him die.
MEMORY GEMS FROM RIZAL'S WRITINGS
Without liberty there is no light.
One evil does not correct another.
My dearest wish is the happiness of my country.
It is a useless life which is not consecrated to a great idea.
A man keeps his independence while he holds to his own way of thinking.
If our country is ever to be free it will not be through vice and
crime.
Knowledge is the heritage of mankind, but only the courageous
inherit it.
It is better to honor a good man in life than to worship him after
he is dead.
Resignation is not always a virtue; it is a crime when it encourages
tyrants.
In the flames of war those who suffer most are the defenceless and
the innocent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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