Teachings of the Katipunan – Original texts written by Emilio Jacinto, KKK

(English translation)

  
The Kartilya ng Katipunan is a set of guiding principles and ideals that remain most relevant today amidst our nation's crises.

A life that  is not dedicated to a noble cause is like a tree without a shade or a poisonous weed.

A deed lacks nobility if it is motivated by self-interest and not by a sincere desire to help.

True piety consists of being charitable, loving one’s fellow men, and being judicious in behavior, speech and deed.

All persons are equal, regardless of the color of their skin. While one could have more schooling, wealth, or beauty than another, all that does not make one more human than anybody else.

A person with a noble character values honor above self-interest, while a person with a base character values self-interest above honor.

To a person of honor, his/her word is a pledge.

Don’t waste time; lost wealth can be retrieved, but time lost is lost forever.

Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.

The wise person is careful in all he/she has to say and is discreet about things that need to be kept secret./ An intelligent man is he who is cautious in speech and knows how to keep the secrets that must be guarded.

In the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife and children follow. If the leader goes the way to perdition, so do the followers. (Note: This begins with an observation of the vertical relationship of husband and wife during the time of the Katipunan; now, we can say that the parents lead the way and the children follow.)

Never regard a woman as an object for you to trifle with; rather you should consider her as a partner and helpmate. Give proper consideration to a woman’s frailty and never forget that your own mother, who brought you forth and nurtured you from infancy, is herself such a person.

Don’t do to the wife, children, brothers, and sisters of others what you do not want done to your wife, children, brothers, and sisters.

A man’s worth is not measured by his station in life, neither by the height of his nose nor the fairness of skin, and certainly not by whether he is a priest claiming to be God’s deputy. Even if he a tribesman from the hills and speaks only his tongue, a man has fine perceptions and is loyal to his native land.

When these teachings shall have been propagated and the glorious sun of freedom begins to shine on these poor Islands to enlighten a united race and people, then all the lives lost, all the struggle and the sacrifices will not have been in vain.

************