The Count of Monte Cristo
The Friars and the Filipinos by José Rizal
I
It had been for centuries that God the Father, relegated to oblivion by the inhabitants of the earth, abandoned the affairs of the world. He left them to the control of saints and other idols in vogue that the people adored in their madness. He devoted his attention to other suns and planets bigger and more beautiful than ours, where a pure and simple cult was offered to the Eternal Creator. Whenever his omnipotent glance met our little globe, which wrapped in clouds rotated in infinite space, he turned it away with repugnance not unlike what a father does when he sees an ungrateful and wicked son. The earth, thus forsaken to the idols, was enveloped in Misery and suffering. Its face was wrapped like reptiles trapped in their lairs. The sobs of the unfortunate and the victims filled the air, perforated the clouds, and soared until they reached the throne of the Almighty.
The Eternal Father finally had pity on them, and one day, putting his eyeglasses on, he said to himself:
“Let us see and find out what is happening to those Asses of men in their orange-colored sphere!”
God looked earthward, and fate decreed that his gaze should fall precisely upon a handful of islands, many of which were mountainous, surrounded by tempestuous seas and shaken by earthquakes as though they were quivering. God saw men of different races and colors of whom though some were wearing skirts and others pants, yet had their head shaven on the crown, leaving a circle of hair around it. On the other hand, others had it reversed: shaved all around except in the middle where a lock of hair grew long like that of a woman. Occasionally, a few were capering and uttering many stupidities, imputing them to him, the Eternal Father, while others capered more and uttered more stupidities believing that they would please him. The Eternal Father thought he was suffering from hallucination so he adjusted better his eyeglasses and
I
It had been for centuries that God the Father, relegated to oblivion by the inhabitants of the earth, abandoned the affairs of the world. He left them to the control of saints and other idols in vogue that the people adored in their madness. He devoted his attention to other suns and planets bigger and more beautiful than ours, where a pure and simple cult was offered to the Eternal Creator. Whenever his omnipotent glance met our little globe, which wrapped in clouds rotated in infinite space, he turned it away with repugnance not unlike what a father does when he sees an ungrateful and wicked son. The earth, thus forsaken to the idols, was enveloped in Misery and suffering. Its face was wrapped like reptiles trapped in their lairs. The sobs of the unfortunate and the victims filled the air, perforated the clouds, and soared until they reached the throne of the Almighty.
The Eternal Father finally had pity on them, and one day, putting his eyeglasses on, he said to himself:
“Let us see and find out what is happening to those Asses of men in their orange-colored sphere!”
God looked earthward, and fate decreed that his gaze should fall precisely upon a handful of islands, many of which were mountainous, surrounded by tempestuous seas and shaken by earthquakes as though they were quivering. God saw men of different races and colors of whom though some were wearing skirts and others pants, yet had their head shaven on the crown, leaving a circle of hair around it. On the other hand, others had it reversed: shaved all around except in the middle where a lock of hair grew long like that of a woman. Occasionally, a few were capering and uttering many stupidities, imputing them to him, the Eternal Father, while others capered more and uttered more stupidities believing that they would please him. The Eternal Father thought he was suffering from hallucination so he adjusted better his eyeglasses and