The Social Cancer - Noli Me Tángere (Latin for "Touch me not"; acute accent is added on the final word in accordance with Spanish orthography) is an 1887 novel by Filipino writer and activist José Rizal published during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. It explores perceived inequities in law and practice in terms of the treatment by the ruling government and the Spanish Catholic friars of the resident peoples.
Originally written by Rizal in Spanish, the book has since been more commonly published and read in the Philippines in either Tagalog (the major indigenous language), or English. The Rizal Law requires Noli and its sequel, El filibusterismo to be read by all high school students throughout the country. Noli is studied in Grade 9 and El filibusterismo in Grade 10. The two novels are widely considered to be the national epic of the Philippines. They have been adapted in many forms, such as operas, musicals, plays, and other forms of art.
The title originates from the Biblical passage John 20:13-17. In Rizal's time it also referred to cancers that occurred on the face, particularly cancers of the eyelid; touching such lesions irritated them, causing pain.[1] As an ophthalmologist, Rizal was familiar with the cancer and the name.[2] He is explicit about the connection in the novel's dedication, which begins: A mi patria ('To my country')[3]: 26 and continues with "...a cancer of so malignant a character that the least touch irritates it and awakens in it the sharpest pains."[a] Rizal probes the cancers of Filipino society.[4] Early English translations of the novel used different titles, such as An Eagle Flight (1900) and The Social Cancer (1912), but more recent English translations use the original title.
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda[7] (Spanish: [xoˈse riˈsal], Tagalog: [hoˈse riˈsal]; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national hero (pambansang bayani) of the Philippines.[8][9] An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement, which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain.
He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion after the Philippine Revolution broke out; it was inspired by his writings. Though he was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he ultimately approved of its goals which eventually resulted in Philippine independence.
Rizal is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines and has been recommended to be so honored by an officially empaneled National Heroes Committee. However, no law, executive order or proclamation has been enacted or issued officially proclaiming any Filipino historical figure as a national hero.[9] He wrote the novels Noli Me Tángere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891), which together are taken as a national epic, in addition to numerous poems and essays.