Rizal’s multifacetedness was described by his German friend, Dr. Adolf Meyer, as “stupendous.”
Documented studies show him to be a polymath with the ability to master various skills and subjects.
He was an ophthalmologist, sculptor, painter, educator, farmer, historian, playwright and journalist. Besides poetry and creative writing, he dabbled, with varying degrees of expertise, in architecture, cartography, economics, ethnology, anthropology, sociology, dramatics, martial arts, fencing and pistol shooting. He was also a Freemason, joining Acacia Lodge No. 9 during his time in Spain and becoming a Master Mason in 1884.