THE BIBLE AS HISTORY

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As far as I remember, we (my peers) who were raised Roman Catholics did not get much direct exposure to the Bible (as we rely more on our priests); Protestants do. 


With regard to the Bible (Hebrew and Christian Scriptures), the belief system of many religious conservatives, mainstream Protestants, Evangelicals and some Catholics, may be said to fall into four inter-related principles, that: the Bible is inerrant (no errors); the meaning of biblical passages is clear and unambiguous; its authors inspired by God and the bible is the word of God and thus reflects accurately the will of God. Further, many religious conservatives believe that the Bible is to be interpreted literally. 

Many mainline Christians believe that the Bible contains the will of God. Fundamentalist denominations, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, and other conservative evangelical Protestant denominations generally teach a strict view on the inerrancy of the Bible. It is a belief that is tied with their understanding that God directly inspired its authors. The writers largely played the role of a secretary taking dictation.


On the other hand, Many liberal/progressive Christians believe that the Bible was written by individuals to promote their own evolving spiritual beliefs, and that many of the authors were severely limited by their tribal culture and by their lack of scientific knowledge.  Many progressive Christians believe that it is important to recognize that many biblical passages contain factual errors and that many do not reflect the will of God.

Many reject what the Bible's authors have to say on topics such as: genocide, human slavery, oppression of women, transferring sin from the guilty to the innocent, etc. (In Vietnam, some American soldiers "quoted from Joshua to condone the My Lai massacre. They claimed that butchering babies would purge Vietnam of the 'commie stain,' and that they [the soldiers] were on God's side." During the " 'ethnic cleansing' of the Muslims in Bosnia. [some Serbian Orthodox Christian believers]... quoted the book of Joshua to justify slaughter. They saw it as 'god's will' to slay the infidels.")

Below is a short essay by Prof. Anthony C. Grayling about the Bible and its being miscontrued as true/real history.


[Speaking of my perspective on religion, I say that I  have been raised in the Roman Catholic tradition; and spent almost 3 years in a Salesian of Don Bosco seminary. I was a practicing Catholic till I was 18 years where I came of age to gradually question all my so-called religious beliefs, immersing myself in readings about: other Christian denominations, non-Christian religions, writings of Catholic and non-Catholic theologians, philosophers, psychologists, and talking with a few open-minded friends (mostly believers), even attending post-grad philosophy and psychology courses; etc. I estimate I have spent a good 4 years of my early adulthood in pursuit of claimed "truth or truths" (whatever they are as traditionally thought). Of course I do not believe in such now. ]
- Bert


"Every sect is a certificate that God has not plainly revealed his will to man. To each reader the Bible conveys a different meaning." - Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899)


"Moses' law cannot be valid simply and completely in all respects for us. We have to take into consideration the character and ways of our land when we want to make or apply laws or rules, because our rules and laws are based on the character of our land and its ways and not on those of the land of Moses, just as Moses' laws are based on the ways and character of his people and not those of ours." Martin Luther's Works, Volume 46, p. 291. - Martin Luther (1483-1546)


"The Bible has been used for centuries by Christians as a weapon of control. To read it literally is to believe in a three-tiered universe, to condone slavery, to treat women as inferior creatures, to believe that sickness is caused by God's punishment, and that mental disease and epilepsy are caused by demonic possession. When someone tells me that they believe the Bible is the 'literal and inerrant word of God,' I always ask, 'Have you ever read it'?"
- Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong (1931-present)
. 

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THE BIBLE AS HISTORY

If you conduct a search of the internet on the subject of biblical archaeology, one of the first entries you find welcomes you with the claim that"amazing discoveries are being made daily which prove that the Bible is historically accurate and that the Scriptures are the inspired word of God."  Most people, whether they are religious or not, accept that much of the Bible is historical, even if it is history glossed from the viewpoint of a particular tribe's uneasy relationship with its god. It is precisely this view that Thomas Thompson contests in his controversial analysis of the Bible as a collection of literary, philosophical and apologetical works (The Bible In History: How Writers Create A Past).

Thompson's thesis is that the Old testament is not a record of Israel's origins and early days, but a later attempt to provide Israel with a heritage. To construct a heritage is to construct an identity, such writing of "history" is in large part an attempt to explain and justify not the past but the present.  By examining all  the evidence --literary and philosophical as well as historical and archaeological --Thompson shows how deliberately the Bible texts were aimed at fulfilling that task. The implications are dramatically controversial.

One is that there was no United kingdom of David and Solomon. Another is that the story of the early wanderings in exile of God's chosen is the record of a spiritual not an actual journey. Similarly, Nehemiah opens with Jerusalem in ruins as a figurative way of presenting Israel's need for rebirth. And Thompson demonstrates how the biblical texts are woven out of metaphors, as when the waters of the Red Sea part for Moses, of the Jordan for Joshua, of the Jabbok for Jacob, and as when David goes up to pray on the Mount of Olives in desperation of heart, which the New Testament writers represent Jesus as doing so.

When Thompson first advanced these views 30 years before he published his book on the subject, the result was academic ostracism and a stalled career. The standard view then was that because the Bible record is basically sound, archeological and other textual remains can be explained to terms of it. But an increasing weight of evidence calls this premise so far into question that there is now an increasing divergence between biblical studies and theology. Many scholars have come to agree with Thompson, and on good grounds. For if you seek external evidence to corroborate the biblical texts, extremely little exists for the period of the bronze and Iron Ages, in which the history of old Israel falls.  And when what looks like such evidence is found --for example, the Mesha stele referring to "Omri, King of Israel" --research shows that the inscription, once interpreted in the light of the Bible rather than vice versa, is far later than its biblical interpretation says it is.

Even more tellingly, there are great events in the record of Palestine on which the Bible is amazingly silent.  it says nothing about the great droughts that influenced Palestine's history.  It is silent about the immense battles of Megiddo, Kadesh, and Lachish, which determined its course. It says nothing directly about four centuries of Egyptian dominance of the region. And the reason is simple: "The Bible's language is not," says Thompson, "an historical language. It is a language of high literature, of story, of sermon, and of song. It is a tool of philosophy and moral instruction." As such its aim is to offer a spiritual history for a particular people, not the actual history of a time and place.

Secular reinterpretations of the Bible's historicity might now be more accepted in scholarly discussion, but it also remains a standard reflex for archaeologists of the region to speak as if the Bible is still part of their interpretative evidence. The city of Hazor, for example, once the greatest city of the region, has been extensively studied in recent years, and digs yield evidence of its violent destruction. Naturally, archaeologists relate this to Joshua's attack on Hazor --the Bible tells us that he slaughtered all its occupants and burned it to the ground. Solomon is said to have built a gate to the city, Thompson shows that the "Solomonic gates" there and in other cities were not, after all, not built by Solomon.

There should be no regrets over these intelligent reappraisals of the Bible character. The Bible is an extraordinary work of literature: it contains poetry, epic narrative, angry moralizing, celebration of virtue, and a spiritual history of Israel's quest  for a place in the universe. Those who see it as a work of factual history --even if they concede that it is polemical and tendentious in its anxiety to justify God to man, and to coerce the latter into proper observances toward him-- miss its higher metaphysical purpose. And that is: to give Israel an origin, securely rooted in divine ordinances.

Thompson's account shows how biblical texts express the period in which they were written. They come from an age of empire building, which suggested to those who lived through it that God should be an emperor too, and should rule over more than just one tribe.  And they come from an age in which philosophers thought that it is a criterion of what is only truly real that it should be transcendent and eternal, not merely temporary, as things in this world are, and this belief changed the very idea of deity. The result is a collection of writings which, although they are NOT history, made history.

Source: THE MYSTERY OF THINGS by Anthony C. Grayling ( professor of philosophy at Birbeck College, London and a Fellow of St. Anne's, Oxford. he is a Contributing Editor of Prospect Magazine and write a weekly column for THE TIMES Saturday review.)

Cardinal Rosales' Medieval Catholicism, Filipino Passivity and Selfishness

WHAT WE FILIPINOS SHOULD KNOW: Note: Bold and/or Underlined words are HTML links. Click on them to see the linked postings/articles. Forwarding the postings to relatives and friends, especially in the homeland, is greatly appreciated.

To write or read a comment, please go to http://www.thefilipinomind.blogspot.com/ and scroll down to the bottom of the current post (or another post you read and may want to respond) and click on "Comments."

"Many Filipinos are what I call Sunday-religious, that is they go to church every Sunday, take in confession and communion, but the rest of the week they bribe and do corrupt deeds..." - Dr. Pura Santillan-Castrence (1905-2007)

"What luck for rulers that men do not think" - Adolf Hitler

As capitalism rose, the idea of the poor being dear to God changed to the idea of the poor having lost favor with God. - S. Prakash Sethi, 1980

“I helped the poor and they called me a saint, I asked why they were poor and they called me a Communist’ – Brazilian Bishop Helder Camara (1909-1999)

"Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual; the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country." - Karl Kraus, 1874-1936.

A few days ago, Cardinal Rosales said that the Black Nazarene is proof of God’s love and preference for poor people like most Filipinos, recalling that the life of the Savior in Nazareth was marked by "simplicity, humility and sufferings."

Granting that the narratives of Christmas and the Passion of Christ are accurate and true, how can such an imagery be proof of love for the Filipino poor? He lost me there. For the good cardinal and those like him in the medieval past, recent past and the present, their Christian God expects/wants believers to suffer and bear it. (BTW, I still have to hear about any member of the hierarchy to be suffering at the level of our "poorest of the poor.;" not mentioning the latter's suffering in terms of political persecution and/or victimization from military repression and extra-judicial killings.)

This belief is one among the perennial and pernicious teachings from Filipino Catholicism which the hierarchy consistently harps on its unquestioning devotees. Such medieval teaching only fosters passivity, submissiveness, preoccupation with otherworldly and spiritual matters; as if these supposed virtues will solve the real problems faced daily by the believing native/impoverished majority; these supposed virtues which are incompatible to the capacity to claim and exercise one's own rights and only favorable to tyrants of various flavors,in the past and the present.

This Catholic preaching of servitude and dependence continually turns us Filipinos into passive slaves, we know it and do not mind as this "short, earthly life" counts for too little in our believing eyes. Throw in the Beatitudes with its "Blessed are the poor..." and St. Paul's "Love bears all things, endures all things" from his Letters to the Corinthians and ergo we created ourselves as the naive, slavish Filipinos, very well-appreciated by our ruling elite/class and the foreigners who profit from our slave mentality and who laugh themselves on their way to the bank.

Let us not leave out those fellow Filipinos of the "Praise the Lord" or "Born Again" variety, these true believers proclaiming that personal/spiritual salvation is via direct line to their God; who do not believe that "good works" or the common good - which Catholicism preaches and practices to a good degree- are necessary. Of course, their beliefs are consistent to Reformation/Protestant pioneers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, etc.Talk to them about our politics, poverty, etc. and they will expose their narrow-minded, individualistic selfishness and disdain for the poor (especially those who conduct protests in the streets,etc.). So, what else is new about Christianity among us Filipinos?

We witness apathy among us supposedly educated (more aptly, schooled) because our main preoccupation is our selfish selves and our immediate/extended family. "What's in it for me?" is our only frame of reference, consciously or unconsciously. That is why a lot of us schooled Filipinos do materially well, legally and illegally, in the homeland, the USA or other foreign country.

We the supposedly schooled are survivalists, chameleons, opportunists, sycophants, quislings, etc., as copycats of the earlier generations of Filipino ilustrados and their descendants, us who licked/lick the Spanish boots -- then; and now American, local Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. boots to maintain and to expand our social status, wealth and power. To hell with the native majority who have nothing to offer, except maybe a begging hand.

And by the way, we witness apathy among the native majority, "the people", "taong masa" who are deep in poverty and hunger and thus left behind, the poorest of the poor who can not afford to be OFWs-- because their essential human needs, i.e. food, shelter, clothing, etc. are unmet and they are busy struggling to simply and basically exist, not live as those of us who can access the Internet do. As addressed above, most of them consoled and simultaneously misled by the medieval teachings of the Catholic Church.

Fundamentally selfish people usually find ways of accommodating themselves to any regime; many of us Filipinos are selfish and maybe not even know it. If it is despotic (Marcos), we find ways to get into his graces; if it is corrupt (Marcos, Ramos, Aquino, Estrada and now Arroyo), we manage somehow to become corrupted. We Filipinos, schooled or not, are in this vicious circle of rulers being corrupt and the people who are ruled following suit.

There is a connection between the character of a people and its politics, and is demonstrated by the kind of people we send to our elective offices and the resultant governmental policies and priorities. And in our supposed democracy for the few, the connection is emphasized. Ergo, our culture of corruption and our road to perdition, wittingly or unwittingly aided by our Christian religion.

“The rich man may never get to heaven, but the pauper is already serving his term in hell.” - Alexander Chase, 1966

"The rich swell up with pride, the poor from HUNGER." - Sholom Aleichem, 1859-1916, Ukraine-Born American Writer

ON AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY: Bible Warns on Hypocrisy, Concerning Prayer and Charity

BIBLE WARNS ON HYPOCRISY, CONCERNING PRAYER AND ALMSGIVING:

"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others.." - (Matthew 6:1-2, New Revised Standard Version/NRSV)

"And whever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. but whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:5, NRSV)

"Beware of the yeast of Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops." (Luke 12, NRSV)

"When you are praying, do not heap up empty praises as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him..." (Matthew 6:7, NRSV)

"Many Filipinos are what I call Sunday-religious, that is they go to church every Sunday, take in confession and communion, but the rest of the week they bribe and do corrupt deeds..." - Dr. Pura Santillan-Castrence (As I See It: Filipinos in the Philippines & Abroad, 2006, Australia)

Below brief which I wrote in 1981, now updated and posted as part of a larger essay on our Filipino culture/society: Filipino beliefs, customs, attitudes, behaviors, etc. in my blog, click or copy/paste:

http://thefilipinomind.blogspot.com/2005/11/what-we-filipinos-should-know-upang.html


We as Filipino Christians are not Christian enough. We brag about our being the only Christian country in the Asia. We brag about our crowded churches on Sundays. We brag about the length of our religious processions. We brag about the colorfulness of our barrio fiestas. We brag about the numerical strength of our Catholic majority. But until when are we going to remain Christians in name and number only? We Filipino Christians have not attained religious maturity. We are supertitious, we participate in such nonsense as the "spirit of the glass," chain letters, Good Friday penitencias, amulets, magic incantations/prayers, etc..ad nauseam.
(see: http://thefilipinomind.blogspot.com/2005/05/use-of-religion-for-desperate-times-we.html)

We as Filipino Christians practice "split-level" christianity. We have not integrated or internalized christian or humanist values in our whole being. We have not gone beyond "externalities," as happens in the Black Nazarene fame at Quiapo or the wiping of San Roque's dog. We go to church on Sundays due to compulsion, not out of conviction. We drift lazily to church, dangle and loiter at the back, walk in and walk out for a chat or smoke. We come to church because it is Sunday and we love the Sunday crowd; or if we do not like the Sunday crowd, we still go lest we be looked at differently.

Our norm of moral behaviour is based on the external such as shame or "hiya," "don't get caught attitude," "everyone does it," "ako ay tao lamang," and other convenient rationalizations. Because of our failure to internalize Christian ideals (AND the failure of the Church to nurture) to become, at least partly, the basis of our actual behaviour, we as so-called Christian politicians, bureaucrats or plain Juan dela Cruz feel little, if any at all, guilt upon loss of integrity. We feel neither inconsistencies nor hypocrisy.

(see: http://thefilipinomind.blogspot.com/2005/07/filipino-norm-of-morality-vitaliano-r.html andhttp://thefilipinomind.blogspot.com/2005/05/when-our-religion-becomes-evil-our.html )

We as Filipino Christians are intellectually unexciting christians. We never went beyond our small cathechism book. We never heard or read about developments in the church such as the Papal Encyclicals, Vatican II, Liberation Theology; we are unaware of the history of christianity, of the writings of Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Teilhard de Chardin, Neihbuhr, Hans Kung and other brilliant minds who wrestled with the rational aspects of our christian faith. We know nothing about the studies made about "Filipino-style" Christianity by Filipino priests.

We are so ignorant, thus still childish and immature in our religious beliefs and sentiments, and out of touch with what constitute a truly Christian message. We therefore continue to practice an escapist religion --an opiate of the people, and an economic boon to vendors and other opportunists; and conceive of the church as limited to what happens inside the church building (these are 16th century concepts).

(see: http://thefilipinomind.blogspot.com/2005/05/prayerful-filipino-i-think-most.html)

Pope's Book Accuses Rich Nations of Robbery

Pope's book accuses rich nations of robbery
Benedict hails Marx's analysis of modern man
Publication planned for 80th birthday
John Hooper in Rome
Thursday April 5, 2007
The Guardian

WHAT WE FILIPINOS SHOULD KNOW: (Note: Bold and/or underlined words are HTML links. Click on them to see the linked posting/article. Forwarding the postings to relatives and friends, especially in the homeland, is greatly appreciated).

"The rich swell up with pride, the poor from HUNGER." - Sholom Aleichem, 1859-1916, Ukraine-Born American Writer

“I helped the poor and they called me a saint, I asked why they were poor and they called me a Communist’ – Brazilian Bishop Helder Camara (1909-1999)

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Pope's book accuses rich nations of robbery
Benedict hails Marx's analysis of modern manPublication planned for 80th birthday

Pope Benedict appeared to reach out to the anti-globalisation movement yesterday, attacking rich nations for having "plundered and sacked" Africa and other poor regions of the world.

An extract published from his first book since being elected pope highlighted the passionately anti-materialistic and anti-capitalist aspects of his thinking. Unexpectedly, the Pope also approvingly cited Karl Marx and his analysis of contemporary man as a victim of alienation.

The Pope's 400-page book, entitled Jesus of Nazareth, is to be published on April 16, his 80th birthday. Yesterday the newspaper Corriere della Sera, which is owned by the book's publishers, Rizzoli, presented a lengthy extract. It includes Benedict's thoughts on the parable of the Good Samaritan, who went to the aid of a traveller shunned by other passers-by after he had been stripped and beaten by robbers. While many commentators accuse the rich nations of not acting like the Samaritan, the Pope goes a big step further and compares them to the thieves.


"If we apply [the story] to the dimensions of globalised society we see how the peoples of Africa, who have been plundered and sacked, see us from close-up," he wrote. "Our style of life [and] the history in which we are involved has stripped them and continues to strip them."

The Pope wrote that the damage was not just material. "We have wounded them spiritually too," he said. "Instead of giving them God - and thereby welcoming in from their traditions all that is precious and great - we have brought them the cynicism of a world without God in which only power and profit count."

His judgment is bound to be seen as a condemnation of colonialism. But it could also be read as a confession of the failures of the Roman Catholic church's own missionary activity, which often followed in the wake of conquest and colonisation.

Pope Benedict went on to say that the poor of the developing world were not the only people who could be regarded as victims in need of help from a Good Samaritan. He said narcotics, people-trafficking and sex tourism had "stripped and tormented" many, leaving them "empty even in [a world of] material abundance".

Describing humanity's alienation, Marx had "provided a clear image of the man who has fallen victim to brigands". But the Pope said he had failed to get to the nub of the issue "because he only developed his thoughts in the material sphere".

The emptiness of modern life is a theme to which Benedict has warmed. He told a congregation at a Palm Sunday service that "earnings, success and career must not be the ultimate scope of life". He used the same sermon to warn of damnation for those who took backhanders in business or politics, saying that only those with hands not "soiled with corruption" could expect to reach God.

Noli Me Tangere and the Catholic Church in Our History
[Subtitle: Sa manga masasamang libro,t, casulatan]


WHAT WE FILIPINOS SHOULD KNOW: (Note: Bold and/or underlined words are HTML links. Click on them to see the linked posting/article. Forwarding the postings to relatives and friends, especially in the homeland, is greatly appreciated).

After the novel Noli Me Tangere, written by Dr. Jose P. Rizal, was published in 1887, the below article CAINGAT CAYO was issued as a warning to Filipinos by a Spanish Catholic priest about God's damnation that will befall them for reading the novel.

I remember it was during my late teens and after leaving the seminary that I became aware, bought and read Rizal's two novels: Noli Me Tangere and its sequel, El Filibusterismo (translation by Leon Ma. Guerrero). At the time, I read them voraceously, with feelings of anxiety, shock and wonder.

It can safely be said that past, present and future generations of us native Malay Filipinos were/are/will be conditioned in an atmosphere of fear of God (and of the church, i.e. hierarchy). Such fear has created in us a conscious and/or unconscious self-censorship in our thoughts, way of thinking and action.

Like a herd of sheeps we look and wait for our so-called God's shepherds to tell us what to think and do, what not to think nor question nor do. We learn to live and practice the admonition "let us not go there" when we talk about certain important issues, i.e. Chrisitian religion/belief systems.

We do not seem to realize that till today, our Filipino Christianity is still mainly the medieval version as compared to those of many other considered Christian countries --though strongly secularized. Our Filipino version of Christianity has worked as an escape from reality, i.e. make Karl Marx's 160+ -year old charge that (it)religion is the opium of the people as valid and true; has greatly contributed against the development of critical thinking among us Filipinos and has therefore served as an impediment to needed fundamental changes in our homeland/society.

“The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us a hierarchy of values: man comes first, and the Sabbath second. Public, social and ecclesiastical institutions exist for man, and not the other way round. We, like the Samaritan, must first of all see the man, his status in society notwithstanding, his splendid clothes or pauper's rags notwithstanding.” – Fr. Victor Potapov, Rector, Russian Orthodox Cathedral

“RELIGION. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.” - Ambrose Bierce, 1842-1914, American Author, Editor, Journalist, ''The Devil's Dictionary''

“Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.”- Napoleon Bonaparte

“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed people, the heart of the heartless world, and the soul of the soulless conditions, it is the opium of the people.” – Karl Marx

“Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions.” – Blaise Pascal

“There is no literate population in the world that is poor; there is no illiterate population that is anything but poor.” – John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006)

“Most people would rather die than think, in fact, they do so”. – Bertrand Russell


“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them”. – Isaac Asimov, 1920-1992

"Upang maitindig natin ang bantayog ng ating lipunan, kailangang radikal nating baguhin hindi lamang ang ating mga institusyon kundi maging ang ating pag-iisip at pamumuhay. Kailangan ang rebolusyon, hindi lamang sa panlabas, kundi lalo na sa panloob!" --Apolinario Mabini, La Revolucion Filipina (1898)

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¡CAIÑGAT CAYO!
Sa mañga masasamang libro,t, casulatan.
May lubos na pahintulot ang mañga Puno

Ang librong ito,i malilimus sa halagang isang cuarta ang isa; sa halagang sangsalapi ang sangdaan, at sa halagang apat na piso ang sanglibo, doon sa Asilo de Huérfanos sa Guadalupe, sa bayan nang san Pedro Macati, provincia nang Mainila.

Ang sulat na hingi ay ipadala sa P. Director cun sa Hermano Inspector nang Asilo, at bahala sila magpadala sa ituturong padadalhan sa Mainila.

Pequeña Imp. del Asilo del Huérfanos 1888.


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I.
Caiñgat ñga cayo sa manga masasamang libro,t, casulatan, sapagca,t, dapat ninyong tantoin na may isang cautusan ang santa Iglesiang Ina natin na ipinagbabaual ang pagbasa nang manga masasamang libro,t, casulatan, pati nang pag-iingat at pagcacalat noon; at ipinag-uutos pa na ang sino mang magcamayroon nang gayong libro,i, ibigay agad sa manga Puno nang santa Iglesia, sa Confesor cun sa Amang Cura caya; at cun sacali,t, di maibibigay ay sunuguin man lamang tambing. At ang utos na ito,i, mahigpit na di sapala, na cun di ninyo ganapin ay icapagcacasala ninyo nang casalanang daquila, at cun magcaminsa,i, maguiguing excomulgado pa cayo dahil sa pagbasa noon. Caya cun cusain ninyong basahin ang isang librong natatalastas ninyong baual nang santa Iglesia ay magcacamit cayo nang casalanang daquila, at cun sa saui ninyong palad ay abutin cayo nang camatayan sa gayong calagayang ay mapapacasama cayong magpasaualang hangan.

Ang manga Puno nang santa Iglesia, sa macatouid, ang santo Papa at ang manga Poong Cardenal na pinatungculan niya, sampon nang mang̃a Guinoong Obispo, ay mayroon silang capangyarihan macapagbabaual nang balang mamasam-in nilang librong icasasama nang mang̃a calolouang quinacaling̃a nila; at caya ng̃a catungculan naman nang baua,t, sino mang cristianong sundi,t, ganaping lubos ang canilang mang̃a utos tungcol dito. Ang balang minamasama,t, ibinabaual nila,i, tinatandaan nama,t, isinasacay sa isang librong pinacalistahan nang mang̃a librong baual at masasama.

Ng̃uni,t, palibhasa,i, hindi mangyayaring mabalitaan nila,t, maquita ang lahat na mang̃a masasamang librong ipinagcacalat sa sangcacristianohan; na caya,t, di naman mangyayaring matang̃ing maipagbaual na lahat; at sa cabila nama,i, cun itulot na basahin hangan di tang̃ing ipagbaual ang mang̃a gayong libro,i, macasasamang lubha sa mang̃a caloloua; dahil dito,i, ang santa Iglesia, ang mang̃a nasabing Puno baga nang santa Iglesia, upang mahadlang̃an hangan macacayanan din lamang, ang gayong mang̃a calaguim-laguim na capahamacan, ay mayroong ibinigay sa atin nang mang̃a utos na paraang pagcacaquilanlan nang mang̃a libro, na, cun di pa tang̃ing ipinagbaual, ay dapat nating parahing baual; at cun sacali,t, basahin ay ipagcacasala natin nang casalanang daquila, na para rin cun basahin ang tang̃i nang ipinagbaual. Isusunod co ng̃ang sasaysayin dito ang mang̃a pang̃ulong utos na paraang aquing sinabi, at nang mapagquilala mo, guiniguilio cong bumabasa nito, ang dapat mong asalin tungcol dito sa lubhang mahalagang bagay na icaliligtas nang caloloua mo sa capahamacang ualang hangan.

II.
Ang caunaunaha,i, baual ang lahat na mang̃a libro sa Santong Casulatan na inihulog nang mang̃a ereje sa uicang castila, cun sa uicang tagalog, cun sa alin mang uica; cun sacali,t, cristiano man ang maghulog ay cun ualang pahintulot ang mang̃a Puno.—Caya ng̃a ang lahat na mang̃a libritong hang̃o sa santong Sulat sa bagong Testamento, na ipinagcacalat na limbag sa Oxfort at sa Hong-kong sa uicang castila at cung magcabihira,i, sa tagalog, ay pauang baual; sampon niyang mang̃a Evangeliong uicang castila cun tagalog caya, na iniing̃atan nang marami, cun isinasabit sa liig na parang anting-anting, ay baual din naman.

Ang icalaua,i, baual din ang mang̃a librong sadyang nagtutucoy, nagsasalita, cun nagtuturo caya nang calibugan, cahit doo,i, ualang nahahalong maling aral cun erejía caya.—Alinsunod dito,i, baual iyang lahat na mang̃a palasintaha,t, auit at corridong paraparang mahahalay, na totoong quinauiuilihang basahing nang caramihang mang̃a tagalog, lalaqui man at babayi man. ¡Daming ba pa nang mang̃a nang̃apapang̃anyayang caloloua dahil dito sa mang̃a tampalasang auit at palasintahan! Cun touirin ninyong mabuti ay agad matatalastas na ang pagcapang̃anyaya nang di mabilang na mang̃a bagong-tauo,t, dalaga,i, nagmula sa pagbasa nitong mang̃a baual na auit at palasintahan.

Ang icatlo,i, baual naman ang mang̃a devociones cun tauaguin, ang mang̃a panalang̃in, at mang̃a casulatang quinapapalamnan nang mang̃a pang̃acong sinung̃aling, na di umano,i, ang mang̃a gayo,t, gayon ay ualang di pangyayari.—Caya ng̃a,t, alinsunod dito,i, iyang mang̃a panalang̃in, at iyang mang̃a casulatan na di umano,i, nalaglag sa Lang̃it, at nasumpung̃ang nacababao sa santo Sepulcro, sa altar cayang pinagmimisahan nang santo Papa, at iba,t, iba pang ganito na ipinalimbag sa mang̃a panahong ito sa uicang castila ma,t, sa uicang tagalog, at ipinagcacalat na mainam nang mang̃a alagad nang demonio, ay pauang baual, at ipagcacasala nang sino man ang pagdarasal at ang pagbasa noon, pati nang pagcacalat at pagiing̃at niyon.

Ang icapat ay baual din naman ang lahat na mang̃a libro, mang̃a munting fojas, at munti man mang̃a casulatang nagtuturo nang panghuhula, panggagayuma, pangculam, at iba,t, iba pa.—Ayon dito,i, ipinagcacasala ang pagbasa,t, pag-iing̃at ang mang̃a lunario, cun tauaguin nang iba; at iyang lahat na mang̃a casulatang iniing̃atan nang mang̃a hang̃al na ualang namumuang̃an; na marahil cun caya iniing̃ata,t, pinaniniualaan ay di umano,i, sulat yaon nang mang̃a matatanda, na mang̃a hang̃al pa sa canila.

Ang icalima,i, baual na lahat ang mang̃a libro na hangan sa taon 1584 at hangan ng̃ayo,i, nilimbag ó lilimbaguing ualang itinuturong pang̃alan nang sumulat ó cumatha, nang nagpalimbag, nang pinaglilimbagan, pati nang panahong ipinagpalimbag; at cun sacali ma,t, may itinuro ang lahat nang ito,i, mang̃a hindi totoo ang itinuturo, at paconouari lamang;sapagca,t, ito,i, nagpapaquilalang dapat pang̃anibang may taglay na lico,t masasamang aral na di dapat basahin nang isang cristiano.—Alinsunod dito,i, ang lahat na mang̃a auit at corrido, na arao-arao,i, ipinalilimbag na ualang pahintulot, at ualang itinuturong may catha, (na palibhasa,i, iquinahihiya ang sinulat ay di ibig na maquilala) ay paraparang baual na lahat; lalong lalo na,t, ang caramihan niyang mang̃a auit ay mang̃a punong puno nang mang̃a camaliang di naayon sa mang̃a aral nang santa Iglesia.

Gayon din naman iyang mang̃a libro,t casulatang ipinagcacalat ng̃ayon sa uicang castila at sa uicang tagalog na uala ring itinuturong may gaua,t, may palimbag; at ang laman niyon ay pauang cabulaanang laban sa señor Arzobispo at sa mang̃a Pareng religioso, na pati nang mang̃a cagalang-galang na mang̃a Madre religiosa, ay di rin quinaalang-alang̃anan nang tampalasan nilang pluma, ay ang lahat na ganiyang mang̃a libro,t, casulatan ay baual na basahin, at ipagcacasala nang daquila ang pagbasa,t, pag-iing̃at noon, at lalong lalo na ang pagcacalat.

Pauang cabulaanan, uica co; sapagca,t, cun mapatotohanan nila sana ang canilang mang̃a sinasabi ay hindi nilang ipagmamacahiyang maalaman ang canilang mang̃a pang̃alan; at cun totoo sana ang laman niyang mang̃a carimarimaring sulat ay ualang sucat icatacot ang may catha man, ang lumimbag man, ó ang nagpapalimbag, at nagpapacalat caya, cahit sila,i, ipaghabla,t, isacdal sa Justicia nang mang̃a pinararatang̃an nila nang gayong mang̃a casamaan. Tunay ng̃a pala na ang mang̃a nagcacalat nang mang̃a gayong sulat na anónimo (ualang pang̃alan) ay sucat ipaquibilang sila sa mang̃a tauong ualang hiya!

Ang icaanim ay baual ang lahat na mang̃a librong sulatin cun ipang̃alat, na ang taglay na laman ay mang̃a maling caisipa,t, mang̃a aral na laban sa pinasasampalatayanan sa atin nang santa Iglesia.—Gaya nang̃a baga nang librong catha nang Dr. Rizal, na ang pang̃ala,i, Noli me tangere, na pinupuri,t, binabasang ualang agam-agam nang maraming natuturang cristiano, baga ma,t, sa pagbasang ito,i, nagcacamit sila nang casalanang daquila; sapagca,t, ang nasabing libro,i, punong puno nang mang̃a erejía,t, mang̃a aral na laban sa ating santa Religión.

Halos sa baua,t, fojas at sa baua,t, talata ay may mababasa roong mang̃a sabing sinung̃aling, mang̃a udyoc na capangahasan, mang̃a nacamumuhi,t, mahalay na iparing̃ig sa mang̃a tunay na cristiano, mang̃a paglalapastang̃an sa mang̃a cagalang-galang na Puno nang santa Iglesia at sa caramihang cristiano, mang̃a pagsisiphayo sa Dios, mang̃a camangmang̃a,t, cahunghang̃ang humihicayat sa pagcampi sa tacsil at sucab na si Lutero at sa iba pang mang̃a ereje, mang̃a aral na lubhang lihis at mang̃a erejíang tunay; ano pa,t, hangan sa umuudyoc upang houag sampalatayanang may Dios. Ang lahat nang ito,i, pauang mababasa diyan sa tampalasang libro, at caya baual na basahin, at ang pagbasa noo,i, isang lubhang mabigat na casalanan. At ang may catha noon, ang Dr. Rizal baga, cun taimtim sa caniyang loob ang mang̃a sinulat niya sa nasabing libro at hindi pa niya pinagsisisiha,t, tinatalicdan, ay dapat na ariin siyang tacsil at tampalasan sa Dios, ereje at excomulgado.

Tingni, mang̃a guiniguilio cong tagalog, tingni,t, masdan itong caauaaua capoua ninyong tagalog, na pinupuri nang marami sa inyo na parang ualang capara sa carunung̃an; ualang dao ga sino si Rizal; di umano,i, capurihan dao nang lahi ninyong tagalog, na sucat ninyong ipagparang̃alan. ¡Ay sa aba co! At lalong catampatang sabihin, na sucat inyong ipagmamacahiya ang gayong cahabag-habag na bulag na loob; sapagca,t, siyang caunaunahang tagalog na cusang gumamit nang caniyang camay sa pagsulat nang mang̃a catacot-tacot na catampalasanan sa Dios, sa ating santa Religión cristiana, at sa mang̃a sinasampalatayanan natin.

Bucod pa sa siya,i, tampalasan, ay hañgal pa naman sa madlang bagay; sapagca,t, cun siyasatin ang pagcagaua nang nasabing libro,i, isip ninyong hindi ang camay nang may bait na tauo, cundi ang paa nang isang mangmang ang isinulat noon; at halos sa lahat nang fojas ay mapagmamalas na ang gumaua,i, hang̃al na hang̃al sa paghahanay nang masanghayang pananalita, lalong lalo na sa uicang castila; ang totoong tang̃ing matatanghal doon ang sino man ay ang isang sucab at tacsil na pagcapoot niya sa ating santa Religión at sa España.

Ang icapito,t, catapusa,i, baual ang lahat na mang̃a librong malaqui ma,t, maliliit, ang mang̃a munting calat na casulatan, ang mang̃a diario, at balang nang sulat na ang laman ay lumalaban sa mang̃a aral nang santa Iglesia; ang tanang casulatang nagpupuri sa mang̃a camaliang hinati,t, sinala nang santo Papa, gaya nang mang̃a sinala ni Pio IX sa caniyang casulatang padala sa sangcacristianohan, nang 8 de Diciembre de 1864; ang balang nang sulat na cumucut-ya sa mang̃a Santong guinagalang nating sa mang̃a altar, cun nagsasalita caya nang mang̃a cabulaana,t, ipinataratang sa canila nang mang̃a gaua, mang̃a uica,t, mang̃a acalang di ucol sa cabanalan; ang lahat nang mang̃a librong nanunuya sa mang̃a Sacramento,t, sa mang̃a ugaling paraang na ipinag-uutos nang santa Iglesia sa pagmimisa, pagdarasal, at sa iba,t, ibang mang̃a gauang magaling; at sa cauacasa,i, ang dilang casulatang sa conouari ma,t, di conouari ay cumacampi sa mang̃a camaliang aral na laban sa pananampalataya at sa mang̃a mabanal na asal.—Laban dito sa cautusang itong bigay nang santo Papang si Pio IX, upang masaula ang mang̃a cristiano sa pagbasa nang mg̃a masasamang diario, ay hindi lamang nagcasala ang mang̃a bumabasa nang balang na sa mang̃a nasabing casulatan, cundi pa naman ang nang̃acacatulong sa pagpalimbag at sa pagcacalat, gaya baga cun limbaguin, ipagbili, bilhin, pasulat at iba pa.

Ang pitong utos na ito,i hang̃ong lahat sa libro nang indice sa naturang casulatan ni Pio IX na dapat nating talimahi,t, ganapin, cun tunay nating ibig na mapacagaling.


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III.
Bucod pa sa rito,i, cun caya gayon ang ipinag-uutos nang santa Iglesia sapagca,t, ito,i, utos din naman nang Dios, na turo sa atin nang catutubo nating bait; na cahit di ipagbaual nang santa Iglesia, at mauala man ang listahan nang mang̃a librong baual na, at cahit di nagcaroon nang mang̃a utos na paraang pagcacaquilanlan nang mang̃a masasamang libro, ay nagtuturo sa atin ang catutubo nating bait na di dapat basahin ang mang̃a gayong librong masasama. At sa catunaya,i, magsabi ca sa aquin: ¿di caya baga mabigat na casalanang laban sa icalimang utos nang Dios ang cumain cun uminum caya nang lasong icatatapus nang sariling buhay, at icamamatay nang ating catauan? Ay ano ¿di caya baga lalong mabigat na casalanan ang cumain nang lasong icatatapus nang buhay nang atin caloloua, na icamamatay baga niya dahil sa pagcauala sa caniya nang pananampalataya?

Diyata,i, pinatotohanan co sa iyo na ualang mabisang lasong icamamatay nang ating catauan na sucat mapara sa lasong taglay nang masasamang libro; lasong sacdal nang bisa sa icasisira nang pananampalataya,t, icamamatay tuloy nang ating caloloua; lason ng̃ang camatay-matay na capag nahahalata nating nasisilid sa ano mang casulatan ay catungculan nating pang̃ilagan, at cun dili,i, magcacamit tayo nang mabigat na casalanan cun ituloy nating basahin. Caya ng̃a ualang maimatouid ang maraming bumabasa nang mang̃a librong limbag ma,t, sulat camay, gaya nang mang̃a cay Rizal, na ang itinututol nila,i, di pa ipinagbaual; sapagca,t, cun di pa tang̃ing ipinagbaual, ay baual na talaga, ayon sa mang̃a cautusang sinasaysay na; at bucod pa sa rito,i, capag naquiquitang may lason nang mang̃a erejía at mang̃a lisiyang aral ay ipinagbabaual nang catutubo nating bait, na nagpapaquilala sa ating yao,i, utos nang Dios. Sucat na lamang na sabihin sa iyo nang Confesor ó nang ibang mabait na Sacerdote, cun nang iba pa mang tauo na nacacaalam, at cahit icao man ang Páhiná 19macamasid na ang gayong libro,i, masama, at pagdaca,i, dapat mong bitiua,t, ibigay sa iyong Confesor cun sa iyong Amang Cura, at cun dili caya ipagatong mo sa apoy; sapagca,t, cun pabayaan mo muna sa bahay may pang̃anib na mabasa; at ang cusang lumalagay sa pang̃anib ay diyan siya mapapang̃anyaya, uica nang Dios Espíritu Santo.

Caya ng̃a, cristianong bumabasa nito, ay houag cang paraya sa iyong sarili, na gaya nang ibang marami na ang acala,i, hindi totoong nacacapahamac ang pagbasa nang mang̃a masasamang libro; sapagca,t, hindi masama lamang, cundi casamasamaan ang quinasasapitan nang sumusuay sa mang̃a utos na ito. ¡Ay capatid co! Sinong macapagsasalaysay nang mang̃a casiraang nangyayari sa mang̃a caloloua dahil sa pagbasa nang Páhiná 20mang̃a masasamang libro? Ang uica nang P. Doctor Sardá: «na ang isang masamang librong may taglay na mang̃a tacsil na udyoc, cun mang̃a mahahalay ang halimbaua ay higuit ang casamaan sa mapagcanulong caibigan, higuit ang cahunghang̃an sa mahunghang na maestro, at lalong dapat capootan sa magdaraya,t, mapaghibong tauo.

Ualang imic-imic, at di nang̃adaramdaman ay unti-unting binabagbag ang puso, inililigao ang lalong matalinong isip, sinisira ang lalong maayos na cabaitan, hinihila ang calooban sa mang̃a lisiyang asal, pinupucao ang mang̃a mahahalay na pita, pinapaniniig sa maruruming gaua at malibughaang casalanan». ¿Ano caya ang dahil na yaong binatang dating mabait at masunurin sa magulang ay ng̃ayo,i, naguíng mapagyabang at ualang cahihiyan? Cun ano,t, yaong dalagang dating masayang loob at mahinhing asal ay ng̃ayo,i, laguing namamanglao at caguitla-guitlang ugali? Cun sino ang nagnacao sa canila nang cabaitan, nang cahinhinan, nang casayahan nang loob, sampon nang casiglahan nang canilang catauan?

¡Ay sa aba co! Yaon palang tampalasang libro, yaong mahalay na auit, yaong carumal-dumal na palasintahan, yaong maruruming tula, na paraparang pinatutuloy sa bahay nang ualang pag-iing̃at na magulang! ¡Ay sa aba ninyo, mang̃a magulang! at cayo ng̃a ang hihing̃ang sulit nitong mang̃a casiraang iquinapapahamac nang di mabilang na mang̃a masasama na di ninyo pinalalayo sa inyong bahay at sa camay at mata nang inyong mang̃a anac! Sapagca,t, maniuala cayo,t, dili, ay uuliting cong sabihin ang sinabi co nang madalas: Ay nagcacasala nang daquilang casalanan ang sino mang cristiano, na baga ma,t, natatalastas niyang baual, ó dapat man lamang ipagbaual, ay bumabasa nang mang̃a tampalasang libro. At di lamang nagcacasala ang bumabasa nang mang̃a librong yaon, cundi pa naman ang nag-iing̃at, sapagca,t, utos nang santa Iglesia na ibigay sa mang̃a Puno, cun dili caya,i, sunuguin. At nagcacasala rin nang daquila ang magpahiram sa ibang ualang pahintulot sa pagbasa nang masasamang libro.


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IV.
Alinsunod dito sa mang̃a sinabi co magpahang̃an ng̃ayo,i, marahil nasain mo, cristianong bumabasa, ang ilang malinao,t, tapat na hatol, na parang pinacareglang aalinsunurin; na cun sundin mo naman ay macapang̃ing̃ilag ca sampon nang iyong mang̃a casambahay, mang̃a caibigan nama,t, caquilala, sa mang̃a daquilang pang̃anib na laguing nasusumpung̃an sa pagbasa nang mang̃a masasamang libro. Isasaysay co ng̃a sa iyo ang mang̃a inaacala cong lalong quinacailang̃an at lalong bagay sa pagtatamo nang ninanasa nating paquinabang.

Una-una. Capag banta mong bumili cun bumasa nang anomang libro, munti ma,t, malaqui man, nang diariong may mang̃a lamina,t, uala, nang auit man, tula man, maguing limbag maguing sulat camay, ay bago mong bilhin ó basahin ay dapat mong usisain muna cun baual, cun dili caya; ó cun dapat maguing baual sapagca,t, masama.—Ang pag-uusisa nito,i, nacacailang̃ang siyasatin mo cun ang librong bibilhin ó babasahin ay natatamaan nang alin man sa mang̃a pitong utos na paraang pagcacaquilanlan nang mang̃a librong dapat na ipagbaual, na baual na talaga; at ang lalong maigui sa lahat ay magtanong ca sa Confesor, cun sa Cura caya, cun sa canino mang banal na sacerdote; at ang paraan na ito,i, lalong magaling, sapagca,t, malalayo ca sa pang̃anib nang pagcacamali.

Icalaua. Dapat mong tandaang pinacalandas di dapat sinsayan ang houag bumili, at houag bumasa nang ano mang libro, auit, at casulatang uala sa unang fojas na may lubos na pahintulot ang mañga PUNO. Sapagca,t, ang ayao huming̃i nang pahintulot sa mang̃a Puno ay marahil hindi cristiano, at cun ganoon sucat nang ipaquibilang sa mang̃a baual ang quinathang libro; at cun cristiano naman, at ayao huming̃i nang pahintulot ay hayag siyang souail na cristiano, at masasapantahang magtuturo nang camalian.

Tanto cong magaling na yaong ibang libro,i, di nagcacailang̃an nang pahintulot, at nang mailimbag; at mababasa ng̃a cahit uala ang gayong pahintulot; datapoua,t, sang-ano man ang pag-iing̃at tungcol dito,i, alang̃an pa; sapagca,t, sa casamaang nang mang̃a panahong quinalalag-yan natin ay pati sa mang̃a librong di nagcacailang̃an nang pahintulot, cun magcabihira,i, iguiniguiit din ang mang̃a erejía at mang̃a lisiyang aral: caya ng̃a cailang̃an din sumigao na ualang tugot: ¡Caing̃at cayo sa mang̃a masasamang libro,t, casulatan!

Napagunaua mo na marahil, na sa toui cong sinasabing cailang̃an ang pahintulot nang mang̃a Puno, ang tinutucoy cong mang̃a Puno ay ang sa santa Iglesia, ang Santo Papa baga at ang mang̃a Poong Obispo, palibhasa,i, sila na lamang ang macahahatol nang cagaling̃an at casamaan nang ano mang libro.

Icatlo. Cun totoong totoo,t, ninanasa mong houag magcamali dito sa daquilang bagay na ito, ang lalong mabisang paraan, na nasasaclauan nang lahat na mang̃a ibang paraang iyong mapipili, ay ito ng̃a: Na houag cang bumili, at houag bumasa nang ano mang libro, diario, auit at ano mang casulatan na di ca maquipagsanguni muna sa iyong Confesor, sa iyong Amang Cura, cun sa ibang banal na Sacerdote. At ito rin ang dapat mong ipasunod sa iyong mang̃a nasasacupan. Sapagca,t, doon pa sa mang̃a librong hindi masama, at may pahintulot ang mang̃a Puno sa paglimbag, ay marami rin ang di mo nararapat basahin, sapagca,t, marahil macasasama sa iyo; at caya ualang macapaghahatol sa iyo nang tapat gaya nang mang̃a may catungculang magsaquit sa icagagaling nang iyong caloloua.

Sundin mo ng̃a, guilio cong cristiano, itong mang̃a bilin co sa iyo, at ipasunod mo naman sa iyong mang̃a nasasacupan, at hindi ninyong icapapang̃anyaya ang mang̃a masasamang casulatan. At cun sacali,t, dala nang di ninyo carunung̃an nang dacong arao ay may pinatuloy cayo sa inyong bahay na mang̃a librong masasama ay inyong pagsicapang hanapin, ay dalhin ninyo agad sa Amang Cura cun sa Confesor, na ito ng̃a ang lalong magaling; ng̃uni,t, cun di ninyo magagaua ito,i, sunuguin ninyong tambing. Sunuguin, sunuguing ualang aua,t, hinayang sa salaping ibinili niyong mang̃a libro, at nang houag cayo,i, masunog sa infierno dahilan sa canila.

¡Ay capatid co! cun tularan mo sana ang magandang halimbauang ipinaquita niyaong isang babaying nang̃ang̃alacal nang libro, ayon sa sinasalita ni P. Mach sa caniyang librong «Tesoro del Catequista»:

Nang malapit nang mangyari yaong balitaa,t, malaquing pagcagulo doon sa caharian nang Francía, ay may isang babaying nang̃ang̃alacal nang libro na dinatnan nang balita, na si P. Borgar (Beauregard) ay lubhang mariquit na magsermon, na caya ng̃a hinahang̃aan siya nang lahat na taga Paris.

Dala nang balitang ito,i napasa simbahan nang Nuestra Señora de Paris ang nasabing babayi, at gayac siyang maquiquinyig nang pang̃ang̃aral nang Pareng yaon; at nagcataon naman na ang mang̃a sinasabi nang Pare noong gabing yaon ay pauang nauucol sa mang̃a masasamang libro. Ang naturang babayi, baga ma,t, timtima,t, may puri, ay nagbibili nang mang̃a librong laban sa ating santa Religión at laban din sa magagaling na asal. Anaqui nabulagan siya nang casaquiman sa salapi, gaya nang pagcabulag nang maraming naglalaco,t, nang̃ang̃alacal nang mang̃a mahahalay na palasintahan, auit, corrido at iba,t, iba pang mang̃a masasamang casulatan, at di nila inaanumana ang mang̃a casalanang di mabilang na quinacamtan nila, at ang mang̃a quinacamtan nang iba dahilan sa canila.

Ng̃uni,t, ang babaying yao,i, dahil sa pang̃ang̃aral nang Pare ay iminulat niya ang mata nang caniyang isip, caya,t, napagquilala, na ang mang̃a tampalasang librong lumalaban sa santa Religión, at umaaquit sa maruruming hilig nang catauan, ay parang bucal nang camatay-matay na lasong sumisira sa caloloua,t, puso nang tauo; at ang mang̃a nagpapalimbag, nagbibili, cun tumutulong sa papaano mang paraan nang pagcacalat sa mang̃a gayong libro ay catulad nang mang̃a manglalason; at darating ang arao, at sila,i, hihing̃an nang Pang̃inoong-Dios nang mahigpit na pagsusulit sa mang̃a caguluha,t, casalanang nangyari dahil sa canila.

Halos di ng̃a magcasiya sa loob nang babaying yaon ang sisi sa sarili, at napag-unaua na ang pang̃ang̃alacal niya,i, lubhang di carapat-dapat sa isang calolouang may iniing̃atan pang cahihiyan at pagquilala sa Dios; caya ng̃a,t, minabuti niyang lisanin magpacailan man ang paghahanap buhay na yaon. Nang matapus ang sermon ay tinung̃o niya ang bahay nang Pare, at nagsabi sa caniya nang ganito: Aquin napagquiquilala, Ama co, ang cadaquilaan nang aquing pagcacasala sa pagbibili co nang mang̃a masasamang libro; ng̃uni,t, yayang minulan na ninyo ang paggamot sa aquing caloloua,i, lubusin ninyong pagcagaling̃in: pumaroon po cayo sa aquing tindahan, tignan ninyo ang mang̃a librong naroroon, at sunuguin po ninyo ang lahat na mamasamain ninyo.

Sang-ano man ang maguing capang̃aluguihan co, at mauala man sa aquin ang lahat cong mang̃a tinubo, ay mamagaanin cong lahat, houag lamang mapacasama ang aquing caloloua. Pinuri ni P. Borgar ang gayong magandang banta, at nang̃acong tutulong̃an siya sa pagganap nang caniyang ninanasa. Quinabucasa,i, naparoon siya, ibinucod ang mang̃a masasamang libro,t, itinuro sa babayi, na quinuha nito,t, isinugbang lahat sa isang malaquing siga na caniyang inihanda. Ang halaga nang mang̃a sinunog na libro,i, mahiguit dao sa sanglibo,t, dalauang daang piso; at magmula noo,i, pinagtiticahan niyang mahigpit na hindi na magbibili nang mang̃a ibang libro, cundi yaon lamang macapagpapagaling sa mang̃a caloloua.

¡Tularan naua itong magandang halimbaua nang mang̃a sederang naglalaco nang mang̃a bagay bagay na auit at masasamang libro! Tularan mo rin ng̃a, guiniguilio cong bumabasa, cun sacali,t, sa mang̃a nacaraang arao,i, di ca nagpacaing̃at capara nitong babayi; at tungcol sa haharaping arao ay houag cang lumihis munti man sa mang̃a itinuro sa iyo dito sa libritong ito. At isinasamo co pa sa iyo na ipaquilala mo ang libritong ito sa iyong mang̃a hinlog, mang̃a catoto,t, mang̃a caquilala, at nang sila nama,i, gumanap nang mang̃a bilin dito: at cun magcaganoon ay mahahadlang̃an ang marami sa mang̃a capahamacang dala nang masasamang libro,t, casulatan.

¡Loobin naua nang catamis-tamisang Puso ni Jesús at nang calinis-linisang Puso ni Maria, sampon nang maloualhating Poon san José, na pagpalain nila,t, gauaran nang mahal nilang bendición itong munti cong pagod, upang mapaquinabang̃an nang mang̃a caloloua, at mapatungcol na lahat sa lalong capurihan nang Dios. Siya naua.

Fr. José Rodriguez

Religioso sa Orden ni san Agustin.

Source: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:T8ZPj1G7baMJ:onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/bparchive%3Fyear%3D2006%26post%3D2006-04-12,3+caingat+cayo+gutenberg&hl=en&amp;amp;amp;ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us