To one who can understand, a few words suffice.

This pre-Spanish maxim tells us that if youre a wise man back then you only need

few words to get the point. In a physics student point of view, it simply says that you only

need few givens to solve a given problem. Now lets relate this maxim into the past and

the present happenings in the Filipino culture.

I can say that our ancestors back then follow this maxim in so many cases in their

lives. First, back then when parents told their children to do some household chores, it

will be done instantly without further ado. Well, compared to our generation its different.

Filipino children now, including myself, reason out to their parents when being tasked to

do some chores. Reasons like, I have assignments, I have a bad stomach, its not my

turn - its kuyas, and so on and so forth. Second, back then when parents give their

children some important life advices, the children understand their parents without further

complaining. However, in our present society its also different. Most children now when

given life advices by their parents do not take value of that advice, instead they just make

fun of that advice into a term we called sermon. The last to my list is this, when parents

prohibited their children back then to a particular thing that can mislead them, the children

with no further questioning obeyed their parents. Now, again its different. Most children

now tend to be more rebellious. When their parents prohibited them with this act or

person, they tend to go against their parents will. Well, Im not generalizing things, I am

just saying things in my own point of view from the actions of Filipinos then to Filipinos

now with relation to the maxim above.

To conclude, Filipinos back then were good listeners compared to the generation

we have today. However, its really not a bad thing to reason out to your parents, just
make your manner of reasoning polite. Anyways, what matters the most is the respect we

have to our parents will never diminish no matter how successful a person we are

because you know what they say, Parents knows best.