The people of the Philippines, their religious progress and preparation for spiritual leadership in the Far East,

128 THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES
never leaving the path of righteousness and justice; in order
to attain that perfection by means whereof thou shalt contribute to the progress of humanity; thus thou shalt fulfil the
mission to which God has appointed thee in this life, and by
so doing, thou shalt be honored, and being honored thou shalt
glorify thy God.
"4. Thou shalt love thy country after thy God and honor
her more than thyself, for she is the only Paradise which God
has given thee.
"5. Thou shalt strive for the happiness of thy country
before thy own, making of her the kingdom of reason, of
justice, and of labor: for if she be happy, thou, together with
thy family, shalt likewise be happy.
"6. Thou shalt strive for the independence of thy country,
for thou only canst have any real interest in her advancement
and exaltation, because her independence constitutes thine own
liberty; her advancement thy perfection; and her exaltation
thine own glory and immortality.
"7. Thou shalt not recognize in thy country the authority
of any person who has not been elected by thee and by thy
countrymen: for authority emanates from God and as God
speaks in the conscience of every man, the person designated
and proclaimed by the conscience of a whole people is the
only one who can use true authority.
"8. Thou shalt strive for a Republic and never for a
Monarchy in the country: for the latter exalts one or several
families and founds a dynasty; the former makes a people
noble and worthy through reason, great through liberty, and
prosperous and brilliant through labor.
"9. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: for God has
imposed upon him, as well as upon thee, the obligation to help
thee and not to do unto thee what he would not have thee do
unto him; but if thy neighbor, failing in his sacred duty, make
any attempt against thy life, thy liberty, and thy interests, then
thou shalt destroy and annihilate him, for the supreme law
of self-preservation prevails.
"Io. Thou shalt esteem thy countryman as more than thy
neighbor: thou shalt see in him thy friend, thy brother, at