Event date: March 01, 1887

Displays: 5089

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Publication in Berlin, Germany, of Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) by José Rizal, the Philippines' most illustrious son, awakened Filipino national consciousness.

Noli Me Tangere (The Social Cancer) is a Spanish-language novel written by José Rizal and published in 1887 in Berlin. The novel is commonly referred to by its shortened name Noli; the English translation was originally titled The Social Cancer, although recent publications have retained the original Latin. The literal translation is touch me not. Rizal derived this phrase from the Bible, specifically the Gospel of St. John 20:13-17, which describes how lepers were made to wear signs bearing these words to warn passers-by of their condition. "Touch me not" were also the warning words spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalene upon rising from the dead. In the Gospel of John, Jesus uttered this because he has not accomplished his mission (after rising from the dead, he must ascend to heaven to see God the Father) and hence, cannot be touched. French writer D. Blumenstihl says that "Noli me tangere" is in fact the professional nickname used by ophthalmologists (such as Rizal himself) for cancer of the eyelids.