He must have had reason, even in far Dapitan, to wonder if there were any place out of range of the malicious or the dull. Persons that thought they had a call to reform him and other persons that believed they had been appointed to torture him would not leave him alone even here. It was a place with what was called a mail service; in the course of time almost any letter that had passed the censor would come limping in. Among such freight arrived one day a laborious effort from the superior of the Jesuits in the Philippines, the Rev. Father Pastells, in which he took occasion to offer disagreeable remarks. Rizal might have responded in kind, if he had pleased; as to which, take note of some of the sarcastic passages in “Noli Me Tangere.” Instead of flouting his reverend critic, he chose to favor him with a serious letter in which the faith that guided his course was set forth with the eloquence of honesty. He wrote: You exclaim: “What a pity that so gifted a youth should not have used his talents in a better cause.” Possibly there are other causes better than mine. But my cause is good, and that is enough for me. Others, perhaps, may gain more honors and greater glory. But I am like the bamboo, which is also a native of this soil. It is used for cottages of light material and not for heavy European buildings. So I regret neither my humble cause nor its small rewards. I only regret the little talent that God has given me to use in its service. If instead of being weak bamboo I had been solid hardwood, I should have been able to give better aid. But He that made me what I am never makes mistakes in any of His acts. He knows very well how useful are even the smallest cottages. As to any fame, honor, or profit that I might have gained, I admit all that to sound attractive, for I am a young man of flesh and blood with a full share of human weaknesses. But no one chooses the nationality or race into which he is born. With his birth he profits by the privileges or suffers the disadvantages that race and nationality bring. So I accept the cause of my country. I have confidence that He that created me a Filipino will know how to pardon in me mistakes due to our hard position and the poor education we receive from our birth. I am not working for fame or glory. I have no ambition to rival others that are born into conditions very different from my own. My only desire is to do all I can within the limits of my powers. I wish most to do what is needed most. I have received a little learning and I think I ought to teach it to my countrymen. Others more fortunate than I may work for the great things. [186]