"I do what I think is right, Apo," Istak said.
"You are not answering my question."
"I doubt, Apo," I said quickly. "And I am ashamed that I do."
"No, no, Eustaquio!" The Cripple shook is head emphatically. "You doubt, you think--have you forgotten the old injunction? What did the Spaniards say about us? That we are children, without minds, that we can easily be led. This is what the Americans are saying, too. This is what they are telling the world. That we cannot manage our affairs, that we do not deserve to be free. But a nation which has people who can think, that nation already has strength. It is the mind which rules, Eustaquio--not instinct or habit."
"You are not answering my question."
"I doubt, Apo," I said quickly. "And I am ashamed that I do."
"No, no, Eustaquio!" The Cripple shook is head emphatically. "You doubt, you think--have you forgotten the old injunction? What did the Spaniards say about us? That we are children, without minds, that we can easily be led. This is what the Americans are saying, too. This is what they are telling the world. That we cannot manage our affairs, that we do not deserve to be free. But a nation which has people who can think, that nation already has strength. It is the mind which rules, Eustaquio--not instinct or habit."
- Po-on, F. Sionil Jose
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