ay desire to uplift the country for its own benefit and that of
the mother country; however generous may be the Catholic Kings in
spirit, I must remind you in confidence that there is another power
which does not allow the Government to see, hear, or judge except
what the curates or provincial priests wish. The Government is
afraid of the advancement of the people, and the people are afraid
of the forces of the Government. So long as the Government does
not understand the people of the country, the country will never
get out from this guardianship. The people will live like weak,
young children who tremble at the sound of the voice of their tutor,
whose mercy they beg. The Government has no dreams of a great future,
a healthy development of the country. The people do not complain,
because they have no voice. They do not move, because they are too
carefully watched. You say that they do not suffer, because you have
not seen what would make your heart bleed. But some day you will see
it! alas! some day you will hear it. When the light of day is thrown on
their monstrous forms, you will see a frightful reaction. That great
force, held back for centuries, that poison, distilled drop by drop,
those sighs, so long repressed--all will come to light and will some
day burst forth.... Who will then pay the accounts which the people
will present and which History preserves for us on its bloody pages?"

"God, the Government, and the Church will never allow that day to
come!" replied Crisostomo, impressed in spite of himself. "The
Filipinos are religious and they love Spain. The Filipinos will
always know how much this nation has done for them. There are abuses;
yes! There are defects; I do not deny it. But Spain is working to
introduce reforms which will correct them; she is devising plans;
she is not selfish. Can it be that my love for my native land is
incompatible with love for Spain? Is it necessary to lower one's self
to be a good Christian, to prostitute one's own conscience to bring
about good? I love my fatherland, the Philippines, because I owe
to her my life and my happiness--because every man should love his
native land. I love Spain, the fatherland of my ancestors, because,
in spite of all that may be said, the Philippines owe to Spain,
and always will owe to her, their happiness and their future. I am a
Catholic. I hold dear the belief of my fathers, and I do not see why
I have to bow my head when I am able to raise it