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 Contents Guide
~ Welcome & What You’ll Learn

Section 1: Introduction to Postman and API Testing

1. Exploring Postman: A Primer
2. Unveiling Postman's Core Features
3. Initiating Your First API Request: Basics Unraveled
4. Crafting Your Initial API Request: A Step-by-Step Guide
5. Mastering API Requests: Practical Implementation Tips
Section 2: CRUD Operations with Postman
6. Creating a POST Request: Dive into Data Transmission
7. POST Requests Demystified: Advanced Techniques
8. Managing Resources: Understanding PUT & PATCH Requests
9. Enhancing Resource Updates: Advanced PUT & PATCH Tactics
10. Deletion Simplified: The DELETE Request Unveiled
Section 3: Organizing with Collections
11. Harnessing the Power of Collections: Overview and Benefits
12. Building Your First Collection: Structuring Your Workflows
Section 4: Harnessing Variables
13. Variable Mastery: From Creation to Implementation
14. Leveraging Variables: Advanced Strategies
15. Scripting Variables: Introduction and Setup
16. Advanced Variable Scripting: Optimization and Efficiency
17. Dynamic Variable Handling: Advanced Techniques
Section 5: Maximizing Environments
18. Building Environments: Foundations and Best Practices
19. Environmental Optimization: Advanced Configuration Techniques
20. Environment Management: Strategies for Efficiency and Scalability
Section 6: Crafting Test Scripts
21. Scripting Simplified: Quick Creation Techniques
22. Initiating Your First Test: A Hands-On Approach
Section 7: Effective Debugging Strategies
23. Debugging Decoded: Practical Techniques for Troubleshooting, Part 1
24. Debugging Decoded: Practical Techniques for Troubleshooting, Part 2
Section 8: Harnessing Data for Testing
25. Unleashing the Power of Data: Integrating CSV & JSON Files, Part 1
26. Unleashing the Power of Data: Integrating CSV & JSON Files, Part 2
27. Unleashing the Power of Data: Integrating CSV & JSON Files, Part 3
28. Unleashing the Power of Data: Integrating CSV & JSON Files, Part 4
Section 9: Mastering Authorization
29. Integrating Authorization: In-Depth Exploration, Part 1
30. Integrating Authorization: In-Depth Exploration, Part 2
31. Demystifying Authorization: Understanding Its Role in API Requests
Section 10: Automation with Command Line and CI/CD Integration
32. Command-Line Automation: Streamlining with Newman, Part 1
33. Command-Line Automation: Streamlining with Newman, Part 2
34. CI/CD Integration: Seamless Execution with Jenkins
Section 11: Workspace Management, Monitoring, and Documentation
35. Workspace Wonders: Creating and Managing Workspaces, Part 1
36. Workspace Wonders: Creating and Managing Workspaces, Part 2
37. Monitoring Magic: Implementing API Monitors, Part 1
38. Monitoring Magic: Implementing API Monitors, Part 2
39. Documentation Delight: Crafting Comprehensive API Documentation, Part 1
40. Documentation Delight: Crafting Comprehensive API Documentation, Part 2
Section 12: Remote Execution
41. Embracing Remote Execution: Unleashing the Power of URL Deployment, Part 1
42. Embracing Remote Execution: Unleashing the Power of URL Deployment, Part 2
Section 13: Exploring SOAP API Testing
43. Navigating SOAP Requests: Mastering Postman's SOAP Capabilities, Part 1
44. Navigating SOAP Requests: Mastering Postman's SOAP Capabilities, Part 2
Section 14: Advanced API Chaining Techniques
45. Building Seamless Connections: API Chaining Essentials, Part 1
46. Building Seamless Connections: API Chaining Essentials, Part 2
47. Building Seamless Connections: API Chaining Essentials, Part 3
48. Building Seamless Connections: API Chaining Essentials, Part 4
Section 15: Unveiling Mock APIs
49. Demystifying Mock APIs: Understanding Their Purpose and Utility
50. Crafting Mock APIs: Practical Implementation in Postman

~ Conclusion
 Welcome & What You’ll Learn
Welcome fellow explorer, to the exciting world of API testing! If you’re
building applications, websites, or any system that interacts with other
programs online, understanding how to test APIs is a superpower. This book
is your comprehensive guide to mastering Postman, the go-to tool for
testing APIs like a seasoned professional.
What Exactly Are APIs?
APIs are the communication bridges of the digital world. Let’s break that
down:
● API stands for Application Programming Interface. Think of it
like a restaurant menu—it lists available ‘dishes’ (data or functions)
and helps you order them. Websites, mobile apps, or smart devices
use APIs to ‘order’ data or request actions from other systems.
Why API Testing?
Imagine you built a super-cool robot and want to make sure all its parts
work together. That’s precisely why we test APIs! Here’s what you gain
from testing APIs with Postman:
● Find problems early: Catching errors before your application goes
live saves you time, headaches, and potentially a LOT of unhappy
users.
● Keep things running smoothly: Ensure your application talks
correctly to other services it relies on. If a company updates their
weather API, you want to make sure your weather app still works!
● Build trust: Confidence that your application delivers on its
promises, boosting user loyalty and satisfaction.
What Makes Postman the Perfect Tool?
Postman is like the Swiss army knife for API testing. Here’s why it’s so
widely loved:
● Super beginner-friendly: No complex coding required to get
started. Start testing in minutes.
 ● Super powerful: As you learn, you’ll discover features for the most
complex testing scenarios.
● Collaboration dream: Workspaces allow teams to work together
and share knowledge easily.
● Widely used: Tons of online resources, tutorials, and help if you get
stuck.
Your Journey Ahead
This book unfolds in a carefully designed way to give you the strongest
foundation:
● The Basics: You’ll start with understanding Postman’s interface and
making your first API requests.
● API Actions: We’ll cover every essential aspect of creating,
reading, updating, and deleting data with APIs.
● Organize, Automate, and Test: Learn to streamline your work
with collections, scripts, and environments for efficiency.
● Data, Authorization & Beyond: Delve into data-driven testing,
securing your requests, and even automation using the command
line.
What You’ll Be Able to Do
By the end, you’ll transform into a true API testing pro, able to:
● Test any API out there, regardless of its complexity.
● Find hidden bugs that could break your application.
● Create detailed test reports for your team.
● Integrate API testing into your development process like a boss.
Are you ready for this adventure? If so, let’s dive into Chapter 2!
Further Resources
● Postman’s Official Getting Started Guide:
https://learning.postman.com/docs/getting-started/introduction/
● Postman Blog: https://blog.postman.com/ (Tons of helpful articles
here)
 Section 1:
Introduction to Postman and API
Testing

Exploring Postman: A Primer

Welcome to the world of Postman! This powerful tool is your trusty
companion in navigating the exciting realm of API testing. Let’s start our
journey by taking a guided tour of Postman’s interface and essential
features.
Your Postman Workspace: The Mission Control Center
When you launch Postman, you’ll land in your workspace. Think of it as
your API testing headquarters. Here’s a breakdown of the key areas:
1. Sidebar: This is on the left. Here you find core functions like:

○ Workspaces: Switch between different projects or team

environments.
○ Collections: Organizes your API requests (more on this
later!).
○ APIs: A place to manage and define API specifications.
○ And more!

2. Builder: This is the central area—where the action happens.

You’ll create requests and view the responses here.
3. Request Tab: This lets you specify:

○ HTTP Method: GET (fetch data), POST (send data),

PUT/PATCH (update), DELETE, and more.
○ Request URL: The address of the API you want to ‘talk’ to.
 4. Tabs (Params, Authorization, Headers, etc.): Fine-tune your
API requests with extra options for things like passing
additional data (Params) and security settings (Authorization).
5. Send Button: The magic button! Hit this to fire off your API
request.
6. Response Area: Once you hit ‘Send,’ this is where the API’s
response will appear, giving you all the details.

Important Note: Postman’s interface might evolve slightly over time. If

things look a little different, don’t worry! The core concepts stay the same.
A Quick Experiment: Your First API Request
Let’s make your first API request to get a feel for the process:
1. Choose a simple API: We’ll use a public one for practice:
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1 (This API
provides sample data)
2. Set the method: In the request tab, select ‘GET’ from the
dropdown menu.
3. Enter the URL: Paste the following in the URL field:
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1
4. Hit that Send button!

Boom! You’ll see a response below containing some sample data.

Congratulations, you just made your first API call using Postman!
Key Takeaways
● Postman is your user-friendly window into APIs: With Postman,
you don’t need to be a coding wizard to start testing APIs.
● The layout is designed for exploration: Even if you feel a bit
overwhelmed at first, we’ll cover everything piece by piece.
● Learning by doing is highly effective: Don’t be afraid to
experiment with different APIs and buttons within Postman.
Ready to Dive Deeper?
This was just a warm-up! Get ready to uncover Postman’s full potential as
we delve into specific features, crafting your own API requests, and testing
like a pro. Onward to Chapter 2!
Additional Resources
● Postman Quick Start Guide:
https://learning.postman.com/docs/getting-started/sending-the-first-
request/
● JSONPlaceholder (For practice APIs):
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/

Unveiling Postman’s Core Features

In the previous chapter, you took your first steps with Postman. Now, let’s
go on a deeper exploration of the key features that make this tool an API
testing powerhouse.
Requests: The Heart of Postman
● HTTP Methods: Your Toolbox: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE,
PATCH, and more – each method tells the API what action you want
to perform. It’s like having a set of different verbs for precise
communication.
● URL: The API’s Address: This is where your request is going.
Think of it like a web address for the API.
● Params Tab: Add Extra Details: Attach additional information
alongside your request. Think of it like specifying options when
placing an online order.
● Authorization Tab: The Security Gatekeeper: Control how you
prove your identity to the API. We’ll delve into this in later
chapters.
 ● Headers Tab: More Request Fine-Tuning: Add metadata like
your browser type or the format of the data you want to receive
back.
● Body Tab: The Data Carrier: This is especially crucial for POST,
PUT and PATCH requests where you’re sending data to the server.
● Send & Receive: The ‘Send’ button initiates your adventure, and
below is where the API response appears, filled with information.
Test Scripts: Automating the Checks
Postman lets you write JavaScript code which runs after you receive the
response. This unlocks amazing possibilities:
● Simple Checks: Verify the API returned the correct status code
(e.g., “200 OK” for success).
● Advanced Verification: Dig into the response body to assert that
the data is as expected.
● Setting Variables: Capture values from the response to
dynamically use in other requests.
Pre-request Scripts: Before Things Happen
These scripts run before sending the request. Use them for:
● Setting Up Data: Populate variables or generate dynamic
information.
● Custom Logic: Build advanced workflows based on your own
needs.
Collections: Organizing Your API Adventures
Think of collections as folders for your requests. They are vital for:
● Project Structure: Group related API requests together.
● Re-Usability: Avoid repeating the same setup over and over.
● Test Suites: Collections form the backbone of your test sequences.
Environments: Adapting to Different Scenarios
Environments let you store sets of variables:
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 ● Development, Testing, Production: Switch between different API
base URLs and settings with a click.
● Data Variations: Easily run tests with different user accounts or
configurations.
Beyond the Basics
Postman has even more to offer:
● Workspaces: Collaboration and project organization power-up.
● Monitors: Automated API health checks.
● Mock Servers: Simulate APIs for development.
Learning by Doing: A Mini-Challenge
1. Find a Public API: Try out the Reqres API https://reqres.in/.
for practice.
2. Experiment with Methods: Make GET, POST, and PUT
requests. See how the API responds.
3. Write a Simple Test: Assert that a ‘GET’ request returns a 200
status code.

Additional Resources
● Postman Learning Center: https://learning.postman.com/
● Postman Blog (Feature Announcements):
https://blog.postman.com/
Get Ready to Dive Deeper!
Now that you have a solid understanding of the core, we’re ready to build
practical API requests and master the art of API testing!
Initiating Your First API Request:
Basics Unraveled
Get ready to embark on an exciting API testing journey! In this chapter,
we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of making your first API
request in Postman.
Step 1: Find a Beginner-Friendly API
For our practice, we’ll use a super simple API designed for testing:
● Reqres API: https://reqres.in/ (Provides user data)
Step 2: Start with a GET Request
● Create a New Request: Click the “+” button to create a new
request tab in Postman.
● Choose the HTTP Method: Select “GET” from the dropdown.
This is the most common method for retrieving data.
● Enter the URL: Paste the following in the request address bar:
[invalid URL removed]
● Explanation: This API will fetch user data. The ?page=2 part asks
for the second page of results.
Step 3: Hit the Send Button!
The moment of truth! Click the blue “Send” button. After a brief moment,
you should see a response appear below.
Step 4: Analyze the Response
Let’s break down the response:
● Status Code: This indicates success or failure. “200 OK” is the
goal!
● Response Body: Usually in JSON format, this contains the actual
data the API returned. In our case, it should be a list of users.
● Headers: Extra information about the response itself.
Step 5: Time to Experiment!
Let’s play around:
● Change the page number: Edit the URL, try a different page
value, and observe what changes in the response.
● Search the API Documentation: Find out if the Reqres API has
other endpoints (addresses) you can try.
Key Concepts (Explain in Sidebars or Callouts)
● API Endpoint: A specific “doorway” within an API. It’s part of the
URL after the main address (e.g., /users ).
● JSON: Stands for JavaScript Object Notation. It’s a common way
to structure data that APIs use, making it easy to read for both
humans and machines.
Troubleshooting Time
● Error Messages: If you get an error, Postman will show a status
code and a message. Use it as your starting point for solving the
problem. (Hint: Double-check the URL!)
● Postman Console: More advanced troubleshooting can be done in
the Postman Console (View -> Show Postman Console).
Additional Resources
● Reqres API Documentation: https://reqres.in/
● Introduction to REST APIs:
https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/api/what-is-a-rest-api
Onwards to More Complex Requests!
Congrats on your first successful API request! In the next chapter, we’ll
craft more sophisticated requests and dive deeper into the art of API testing.
Crafting Your Initial API Request: A
Step-by-Step Guide
In the previous chapter, you took your first steps with API requests. Now,
let’s get more deliberate. In this chapter, we’ll follow a structured process
for crafting different types of requests from the ground up.
Step 1: Understanding the API
Before diving into Postman, invest in these key questions:
● What does the API do? Get a high-level overview of its purpose.
● Documentation: Is there an API documentation page? It’s your
instruction manual! (Tip: Search online for “ documentation”)
● Authentication: Does it require any keys or login credentials? Get
those ready.
Step 2: Setting the Stage in Postman
1. New Request: Create a new request tab in Postman (click the
+).
2. HTTP Method: Determine the action you want to take:

○ GET: Retrieve data

○ POST: Send new data to the server
○ PUT: Replace existing data
○ PATCH: Update a portion of existing data
○ DELETE: Remove data
Step 3: Specifying the Endpoint
Enter the API endpoint (address) into the URL bar.
● Example with the Reqres API: To get a single user, your endpoint
might be https://reqres.in/api/users/1
Step 4: Adding Parameters (Optional)
 ● Query Parameters: Go in the ‘Params’ tab to add parameters
directly to the URL:
○ page=2 - Request page 2 of results
○ name=Michael - Search for a user named Michael
● Path Parameters: Some APIs use parameters within the URL
itself:
○ https://example.com/users/12 (Fetches details of user with
ID 12).
Step 5: Authorization (If Needed)
Head to the ‘Authorization’ tab. Here’s where you’ll select the authorization
method and provide any required credentials. We’ll cover this in detail later,
but for now, many APIs don’t need this step.
Step 6: Crafting a Body (For POST, PUT, PATCH)
If you’re sending data:
● Body tab: Select ‘raw’ and choose the format (often JSON).
● Example (Creating a new user):
{
"name": "Emily",
"job": "Software Tester"
}

Step 7: Fire Away with the Send Button!

Analyze the response and check its status code for success or failure.
Exercise Time: Practice Makes Perfect
Task 1: Explore the Reqres API
● Thoroughly read the documentation and note the different endpoints
available.
● Experiment with creating GET requests using parameters.
Task 2: Find a Different API
● Choose a simple API from this list: https://any-api.com/
● Apply the steps above to make a few sample requests against this
new API.
Pro Tip: Version Control for Your Requests
Consider using a version control system like Git for tracking changes in
your API requests. This is important for collaboration and managing
updates over time.
Additional Resources
● Guide to REST APIs: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/api/what-
is-a-rest-api

Mastering API Requests: Practical

Implementation Tips
You now understand the fundamentals of building API requests. Let’s
sharpen your toolkit with practical strategies and often-overlooked Postman
features that will make your API testing efficient and robust.
Tip 1: The Art of Headers
The ‘Headers’ tab isn’t just for decoration. Here’s where you control vital
aspects of your request:
● Content-Type: Tell the API what data format you’re sending (often
application/json ).
 ● Accept: Specify the format you want the response in (also often
application/json ).
● Authentication Tokens: If the API requires authorization, your
tokens often go in a header called ‘Authorization’.
● Custom Headers: APIs might use specific headers for things like
rate limiting or special features. Read the documentation!
Tip 2: Pretty Print Your Responses
Does your JSON response look like a scrambled mess? Click the “Pretty”
button (below the response area) to format it in an easy-to-read way.
Visualizing data is crucial for debugging and understanding the API’s
output.
Tip 3: Power Up Your Parameters
● Dynamic Parameters: Use variables (e.g., {{timestamp}} ) within
the ‘Params’ tab to change values without manually editing the URL
each time. We’ll delve into variables later!
● Bulk Edit: Need to add many parameters at once? The ‘Params’ tab
has a bulk edit mode – it makes big changes easy.
Tip 4: Body Formatting Tricks
When your requests contain a body (especially for POST, PUT, PATCH),
pay attention to formatting:
● Auto-Formatting: Postman helps you write valid JSON and XML.
Use the “Pretty” button to ensure everything is structured correctly.
● Raw vs. Form Data vs. Other: The Body tab offers different
format options. Match the one the API expects.
Tip 5: Examine the Full Response
The default view is the response ‘Body’. Don’t forget these tabs:
● Cookies: APIs may set cookies that influence future requests.
● Headers: The response headers contain valuable details about the
server, rate limits, and more.
Mini-Challenge
Let’s practice these tips!
1. Find an API Requiring an API Key: Many weather or map
APIs use this for authorization.
2. Get the API Key: Follow their instructions to obtain it.
3. Request with Authorization Header: Add the ‘Authorization’
header to your request along with your API key.

Pro-Tip: Status Code Checks

Always check the response status code! Postman highlights common ones:
● Green (200s): Generally means success.
● Yellow (400s): Potential client-side error (bad data sent).
● Red (500s): Likely server-side problem.
Additional Resources
● HTTP Headers List: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers
● HTTP Status Codes Explained: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status
 Section 2:
CRUD Operations with Postman
Creating POST Requests: Dive into
Data Transmission
With GET requests, you fetched data. Now, it’s time to send data to an API
using the mighty POST request. POST is commonly used for actions like:
● Creating New Users: Sign-up forms often use POST under the
hood.
● Submitting Articles or Comments: Think of posting on a forum or
blog.
● Placing Orders: Ecommerce stores rely on POST for processing
orders.
The Anatomy of a POST Request
1. HTTP Method: Set this to ‘POST’ in Postman.
2. URL: The API endpoint specifically designed to receive new
data.
3. Headers: Usually, you’ll specify ‘Content-Type:
application/json’ to indicate you’re sending JSON data.
4. Body: This is the heart of the request, containing the data you
want to create on the server.

Let’s Build: Creating a New Blog Post (Example)

Imagine an API with the following endpoint for creating blog posts:
● URL: https://example.com/api/create_blog_post
● Required Data (JSON):
{
"title": "My Amazing Post",
 "content": "This is the best blog content ever...",
"author": "Your Name"
}
Steps in Postman
1. Method & URL: Set the method to POST and paste the URL.
2. Headers: Add a header with key: Content-Type and value:
application/json .
3. Body: Go to the ‘Body’ tab, select ‘raw’, and choose ‘JSON’.
Paste your JSON data.
4. Send! If successful, expect a 201 Created status code and
potentially the created blog post details in the response.

Common Pitfalls
● Incorrect Content-Type: Double-check the API documentation for
what it expects.
● Invalid Data: The API likely has validation rules. Refer to its
documentation to ensure your data is correct.
● Authorization Issues: Some POST endpoints require
authentication.
Practice Time: API Signup
1. Find an API with a Signup Endpoint: Websites with free
trials are a good bet (make sure they have a test mode!).
2. Read the Docs: Determine the endpoint, required data format,
and authentication needs.
3. Craft your POST: Create a POST request to sign up a new test
user.

Advanced Concept: Idempotency

Ideally, sending the same POST request multiple times shouldn’t create
duplicate data. Good APIs are ‘idempotent’ in this respect. Always read the
documentation to understand how a specific POST endpoint behaves.
Additional Resources
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Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
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Yet he also was recognized as possessing practical gifts. The order

had spread into Germany as well as in the other directions of which
Francis had prophesied. The first attempts to establish it north of the
Alps, made in 1216, were not happy. The Italians sent on this
mission knew only one German word, “Ja!” “Are you heretics?” (Sind
Sie Ketzer?) was the first question put to them on Teutonic soil; and
knowing nothing else to say, they said “Ja!” So they were marched
across the frontier again in disgrace. But brethren better provided in
the matter of their Ollendorff had been sent five years later, 244
and now Thomas of Celano was one of those who had been
selected for the German mission, to give stability and unity to the
work there. He was made “custos” of the monasteries at Mainz,
Worms and Koeln (Cologne), and even took charge of the whole
province when its head returned to Assisi. We find Thomas himself
back in Assisi by 1230, where Jordan, the “custos” of the Thuringian
monasteries, came to see him.

Francis had died in 1226, but whether Thomas was actual witness of
his last days, or derived his knowledge of them from others, his is
recognized as the authentic account of the saint’s departure. His
own death is said to have occurred in 1255, but what events filled
up the meantime, besides the biographic labors we have mentioned,
is not known. Perhaps it was in those years that he composed his
great sequence, as his mind, when less directly brightened by the
influence of his master, would be more likely to revert to those trains
of thought which corresponded to his natural disposition. Possibly it
was as his own life was drawing to a close, and the shadows of the
Great Day gathered nearer him, that he poured out his soul in his
great hymn—the greatest of all hymns, unless we except the Te
Deum.
Besides the Dies Irae, there are ascribed to Thomas two other
sequences—
Fregit victor virtualis
and
 Sanctitatis nova signa,

both in commemoration of Francis. As the founder of the Minor

Friars was canonized two years after his death by Gregory IX., there
was a demand very early for the hymns of this character. And as
there was no one better fitted to write them than the poet who had
known Francis so well, and whom the Pope had directed to prepare
a life of the saint, there is no inherent improbability in the tradition
which ascribes them to him. But they do not take rank beside the
Dies Irae. They are poems written to order, not the spontaneous
outpouring of the mind of the singer in the presence of the
overwhelming realities of the spiritual universe.

There are no less than nine persons for whom the honor of the
authorship of the Dies Irae has been claimed. Two of these are
excluded as having lived too early to have written a poem of its
structure and metrical character; they are Gregory the Great 245
and Bernard of Clairvaux. Two others, Augustinus Bugellensis
(ob. 1490) and Felix Hammerlein (ob. 1457) are excluded by the fact
that the hymn is mentioned in a work written in 1285. This leaves
four rivals to Thomas of Celano in his own century, viz., John
Bonaventura (ob. 1274), his brother Cardinal, Latino Frangipani, a
Dominican (ob. 1294), Humbert, a French Franciscan, who became
the fifth general of his order (ob. 1277), and Matthew of Acqua-
Sparta in Umbria, a Franciscan, who became Bishop of Albano and
cardinal (ob. 1302). But it is to be noticed that for not one of these
is there a witness earlier than the sixteenth century. The first and
last are named as having had the authorship ascribed to them by
Luke Wadding, the historian of the Franciscans in 1625; but he
ascribes it to Thomas of Celano. The other two are named by the
Jesuit, Antonio Possevino (1534-1611) and the Dominican, Leandro
Alberti (1479-1552), the latter, of course, claiming the hymn for the
Dominican cardinal, as to whom there is not the smallest evidence
that he ever wrote any poetry whatever. Besides this, the Dies Irae is
a Franciscan, not a Dominican poem. It deals with the practical and
the devotional, not the doctrinal elements in religion. Had a
Dominican written it, he would have been anxious only for correct
doctrinal statement.

Thomas’s claim to its authorship does not rest on the weakness of

rival pretensions. In the year 1285, when Thomas had been dead
about thirty years and Dante was twenty years old, the Franciscan
Bartholomew of Pisa wrote his Liber Conformitatum, in which he
drew a labored parallel between the life of Francis of Assisi and that
of our Lord. Having occasion to speak of Celano in this work, he
goes on to describe it as “the place whence came Brother Thomas,
who by order of the Pope wrote in polished speech the first legend
of St. Francis, and is said to have composed the prose which is sung
[11]
in the Mass for the Dead: Dies irae, dies illa.” This testimony out
of Thomas’s own century is confirmed by parallel evidence. 246
Wadding, whose big folios in clumsy Latin give us the
tradition which prevailed within the order, says: “Brother Thomas of
Celano sang that once celebrated sequence, Sanctitatis nova signa,
which now has gone out of use, whose work also is that solemn one
for the dead, Dies irae, dies illa, although others wish to ascribe it to
Brother Matthew of Acqua-Sparta, a cardinal taken from among the
Minorites.” Elsewhere Wadding says: “Thomas of Celano, of the
province of Penna, a disciple and companion of St. Francis,
published ... a book about the Life and Miracles of St. Francis ...
commonly called by the brethren the Old Legend. Another shorter
legend he had published previously which used to be read in the
choir...; three sequences, or rhythmic proses, of which the first, in
praise of St. Francis, begins, Fregit victor virtualis. The second
begins, Sanctitatis nova signa. The third concerning the dead,
adopted by the Church, Dies irae, dies illa. And this Benedict Gonon,
the Coelestine [in 1625] rendered into French verse and ascribed to
St. Bonaventura. Others ascribe it to Brother Matthew, of Acqua-
[12]
Sparta, the cardinal; and others yet to other authors.”
These direct testimonies are confirmed by local tradition in the
province of Abruzzi, in which Celano is situated, and the Franciscan
origin of the hymn by its existence as an inscription on a marble
tablet in the church of St. Francis at Mantua, where it was seen by
David Chytraeus, a German Lutheran, who visited Italy in 247
1565. That the author was an Italian is indicated by the
peculiar three-line stanza, which approximates to the terza-rima
structure of their poetry, but is not found in poetry of the Northern
nations, except in later imitations.

The statement of Bartholomew of Pisa, that already in 1285 the Dies

Irae was employed in the service for the dead, shows how early it
made its way into church use. In earlier times there was no
sequence in that service, for the reason that the “Hallelujah,” which
the sequence always followed, being a song of rejoicing, was not
sung in the funeral service. This enables us to form an opinion on
the controversy as to whether it was written directly for church use,
or adapted for that after being written as a meditation on the Day of
Judgment for private edification. It would seem most probable that it
was the wonderful beauty and power of the hymn which led the
Church to break through its rule as to the sequence following a
Hallelujah necessarily. The Dies Irae was not written to fill a place,
but when written it made a place for itself.

This controversy connects itself with another as to the genuineness

of certain verses which are prefixed or added to the eighteen of the
text in the Missal. There are, in fact, three texts of the hymn: (1)
That of the Missal, which is generally followed, and will be found at
the end of this chapter. (2) That of the Mantuan marble tablet, which
prefixes four verses:

1. Cogita, anima fidelis,

Ad quid respondere velis
Christo venture de coelis.

2. Cum deposcit rationem

 Ob boni omissionem,
Ob mali commissionem.

3. Dies illa, dies irae,

Quam conemur praevenire
Obviamque Deo ire.

4. Seria contritione,
Gratiae apprehensione,
Vitae emendatione.

After these come in the Mantuan text the first sixteen verses of the
Missal text, with slight and unimportant variations, but the 248
seventeenth and eighteenth are omitted, and the following
conclusion substituted:

17. Consors ut beatitatis

Vivam cum justificatis,
In aevum aeternitatis. Amen.

(3) The Hammerlein text, so called because found among the

manuscripts of Felix Hammerlein after his death, which occurred
about 1457. This also contains the first sixteen verses of the Missal
text, but with far more variations than the Mantuan text shows,
although not such as commend themselves by their merits. Then it
proceeds, altering and expanding the seventeenth and eighteenth
into three and adding five more:

17. Oro supplex a ruinis,

Cor contritum quasi cinis;
Gere curam mei finis.

18. Lacrymosa die illa,

Cum resurget ex favilla
Tanquam ignis ex scintilla,

19. Judicandus homo reus,—

 Hinc ergo parce Deus,
Esto semper adjutor meus.

20. Quando coeli sunt movendi,

Dies adsunt tunc tremendi,
Nullum tempus poenitendi.

21. Sed salvatis laeta dies;

Et damnatis nulla quies,
Sed daemonum effigies.

22. O tu Deus majestatis,

Alme candor Trinitatis,
Nunc conjunge cum beatis.

23. Vitam meam fac felicem,

Propter tuam genetricem,
Jesse florem et radicem.

24. Praesta nobis tunc levamen,

Dulce nostrum fac certamen,
Ut clamemus omnes: Amen!

That neither of these additions at the beginning and end are 249
parts of the original sequence, will be evident to any one who
feels the terseness and power of the original. They are feeble,
lumbering excrescences, and are fastened to it in such an external
way as to destroy the unity of the poem, if left as they stand. The
text in the Missal gives us a new conception of the powers of the
Latin tongue. Its wonderful wedding of sense to sound—the u
assonance in the second stanza, the o assonance in the third, and
the a and i assonances in the fourth, for instance—the sense of
organ music that runs through the hymn, even unaccompanied, as
distinctly as through the opening verses of Lowell’s “Vision of Sir
Launfal,” and the transitions as clearly marked in sound as in
meaning from lofty adoration to pathetic entreaty, impart a grandeur
and dignity to the Dies Irae which are unique in this kind of writing.
Then the wonderful adaptation of the triple-rhyme to the theme—
like blow following blow of hammer upon anvil, as Daniel says—
impresses every reader. But to all this the supplementary verses add
nothing.

Of the use of the hymn in literature I have spoken already. Sir Walter
Scott introduces a vigorous and characteristic version of a portion
into his “Lay of the Last Minstrel” (1805). Lockhart, writing of the
great Wizard’s death-bed, says of his unconscious and wandering
utterances: “Whatever we could follow him in was some fragment of
the Bible, or some petition of the Litany, or a verse of some psalm in
the old Scotch metrical version, or some of the magnificent hymns of
the Romish ritual. We very often heard distinctly the cadence of the
Dies Irae.” So the Earl of Roscommon, in the previous century, died
repeating his own version of the seventeenth stanza:

“Prostrate, my contrite heart I rend;

My God, my Father, and my Friend,
Do not forsake me in my end!”

Dr. Samuel Johnson never could repeat the tenth stanza without
being moved to tears—the stanza Dean Stanley quotes in his
description of Jacob’s Well. Goethe makes Gretchen in “Faust” faint
with dismay and horror as she hears it sung in the cathedral, and
from that moment of salutary pain she becomes another woman.
Meinhold in his “Amber-Witch” (Die Bernsteinhexe), 250
represents the very same verses as bringing comfort and
assurance to a more stainless heroine in the hour of her sorest
distress. Carlyle shows us the Romanticist tragedian Werner quoting
the eighth stanza in his strange “last testament,” as his reason for
having written neither a defence nor an accusation of his life: “With
trembling I reflect that I myself shall first learn in its whole terrific
compass what I properly was, when these lines shall be read by
men; that is to say, in a point of time which for me will be no time;
in a condition in which all experience will for me be too late:
 ‘Rex tremendae majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me, fons pietatis!!!’”

Justus Kerner, in his Wahnsinnige Brüder, depicts the overwhelming

power of the hymn upon minds hardened by long continuance in sin,
but suddenly awakened to reflection by its thunders of the Day of
Reckoning. Daniel well compares it to the picture of the Day of
Judgment, which was the means of converting the King of the
Bulgars to Christianity.

The translations of our hymn into modern languages, especially into

German and English, have been numbered by the hundred. Partly no
doubt this is due to the entirely Evangelical type of its doctrine, its
freedom from Mariolatry, its exaltation of divine mercy above human
merit, and its picture of the soul’s free access to God without the
intervention of Church and priest. Lisco (1840 and 1843) was able to
specify eighty-seven German versions. Michael (1866) brought this
number up to ninety, of which sixty-two are both complete and
exact; and Dr. Philip Schaff says he can increase the list beyond a
hundred without exhausting the number. Among the German
translators are Andreas Gryphius (1650), A. W. Schlegel (1802), J. G.
Fichte (1813), A. L. Follen (1819), J. F. von Meyer (1824), Claus
Harms (1828), J. Emmanuel Veith (1829), C. J. C. Bunsen (1833), H.
A. Daniel (1839), F. G. Lisco (1840), besides partial versions by J. G.
von Herder (1802) and J. H. von Wessenberg (1820).

The translations into English begin with one by Joshua Sylvester in

1621, that of Richard Crashaw in 1646 coming second. There are
four of that century and two of the next, the most notable being the
Earl of Roscommon’s in 1717. In the first thirty years of the 251
nineteenth century there are but four, the notable being the
partial version by Sir Walter Scott in 1805, and Macaulay’s in 1826.
Since Isaac Williams published his in 1831, there has been a steady
succession of versions, bringing the number for the United Kingdom
in this century up to fifty-one. Of these the most noteworthy are by
John Chandler (1837), Henry Alford (1844), Richard C. Trench
(1844), William J. Irons (1848), Edward Caswall (1849), Frederick G.
Lee (1851), John Mason Neale (1851), William Bright (1858),
Elizabeth R. Charles (1858), Herbert Kynaston (1862), Richard H.
Hutton (1868), Dean Stanley (1868), William C. Dix (1871), and
Hamilton McGill (1876).

In point of numbers at least America surpasses England and

approaches Germany. Since 1841, when two anonymous versions
appeared in this country, there have been at least ninety-six
complete versions by American translators, bringing the total of
enumerated versions in the language up to one hundred and fifty-
four. Of American translators may be named William R. Williams
(1843), H. H. Brownell (1847), Abraham Coles (1847 and later),
William G. Dix (1852), S. Dryden Phelps (1855), John A. Dix (1863
and 1875), Marshall H. Bright (1866), Edward Slosson (1866), E. C.
Benedict (1867), Margaret J. Preston (1868), Philip Schaff (1868),
Samuel W. Duffield (1870 and later), John Anketell (1873), Charles
W. Elliot (1881), Henry C. Lea (1882), M. W. Stryker (1883), H. L.
Hastings (1886), and W. S. McKenzie (1887). This certainly, both by
the length of the list and the weight of many of the names,
constitutes a tribute to the power of the Dies Irae such as never has
been offered to any other hymn! Only Luther’s Ein’ feste Burg, of
which there are eighty-one versions in English alone, can compare
[13]
with it.

Of these English versions, those by Rev. W. J. Irons and Dean 252

Stanley in England, and those of General John A. Dix and Mr.
Edward Slosson in America, have enjoyed the most popularity. They
certainly are excellent, but every translator seems somewhere to fail
of complete success. Nor do those who have returned again and
again to the attempt seem to accomplish their own ideal of a perfect
translation. Dr. Abraham Coles, who has made some sixteen or
seventeen renderings, is no better off than when he began. Nor do I
think my own sixth version has carried me one inch beyond my first.
The truth is that not even the Pange lingua gloriosi, which Dr. Neale
calls the most difficult of poems, is in this respect the equal of this
alluring and baffling hymn. But the reader, who has had no access to
the hymn except through the poorest version, has the means to
discern the fact that in it a great mind utters itself worthily on one of
the greatest of themes.

It happened to me once to enter a crowded church, where presently

a distinguished German divine arose to speak. Others had addressed
the audience in English; but he, turning to his fellow-countrymen,
began to pour forth a trumpet-strain of lofty eloquence in his native
tongue. He spoke of the “better valley,” of a happy and peaceful
land. He seemed to see its broad and gentle river and to hear the
chiming of its Sabbath bells. He peopled the air with its lovely
citizens and created about us the presence of its glorious joy. Faintly
and brokenly, as now and then he uttered some familiar words, I
could catch glimpses of that besseres Thal, and its brightness and
beauty, and the awe of its holy calmness came upon me— 253
upon me, the stranger and the foreigner, in whose speech no
word was said.

But they who were of the lip and lineage of the land, they whose
country was brought so near and whose hopes were raised on such
strong and familiar wings—they truly were moved to the soul. I saw
tears in their eyes; I heard their suppressed and laboring breath; I
beheld their eager faces; and the glory of that land fell on them
even as I gazed. So, though we cannot here perceive the fulness of
the Franciscan’s hymn, yet do we discern the stately splendor of
Messiah’s throne, and

“Catch betimes, with wakeful eyes and clear

Some radiant vista of the realm before us.”

This alone can justify another attempt—the resultant of four

previous versions—to express something of the grandeur of this
majestic hymn:
1. Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sybilla.

2. Quantus tremor est futurus,

Quando judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!

3. Tuba mirum sparget sonum

Per sepulcra regionum,
Coget omnes ante thronum.

4. Mors stupebit et natura,

Quum resurget creatura,
Judicanti responsura.

5. Liber scriptus proferetur,

In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.

6. Judex ergo cum sedebit,

Quidquid latet, apparebit,
Nil inultum remanebit.

7. Quid sum miser tunc dicturus,

Que, patronum rogaturus,
Dum vix justus sit securus?

8. Rex tremendae majestatis,

Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me, fons pietatis!

9. Recordare, Jesu pie,

Quod sum causa tuae viae;
Ne me perdas illâ die!

10. Quaerens me sedisti lassus,

 Redemisti cruce passus:
Tantus labor non sit cassus!

11. Juste judex ultionis,

Donum fac remissionis
Ante diem rationis!

12. Ingemisco tanquam reus,

Culpa rubet vultus meus:
Supplicanti parce, Deus!

13. Qui Mariam absolvisti,

Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti

14. Preces meae non sunt dignae.

Sed tu bonus fac benigne,
Ne perenni cremer igne.

15. Inter oves locum praesta,

Et ab haedis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextrâ.

16. Confutatis maledictis,

Flammis acribus addictis,
Voca me cum benedictis.

17. Oro supplex et acclinis,

Cor contritum quasi cinis,
Gere curam mei finis.

18. Lachrymosa dies illa,

Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus;
Huic ergo parce, Deus!

Day of wrath, thy fiery morning

1. Earth consumes, no longer scorning 254
David’s and the Sibyl’s warning.

2. Then what terror of each nation

When the Judge shall take his station
Strictly trying his creation!

3. When that trumpet tone amazing,

Through the tombs its message phrasing,
All before the throne is raising.

4. Death and Nature he surprises

Who, a creature, yet arises
Unto those most dread assizes.

5. There a written book remaineth

Whose sure registry containeth
That which all the world arraigneth.

6. Therefore when the Judge is seated

Each deceit shall be defeated,
Vengeance due shall then be meted.

7. With what answer shall I meet him,

By what advocate entreat him,
When the just may scarcely greet him?

8. King of majesty appalling,

Who dost save the elect from falling,
Save me! on thy pity calling.

9. Be thou mindful, Lord most lowly,

That for me thou diedst solely;
Leave me not to perish wholly!

10. Seeking me thy love outwore thee,

And the cross, my ransom, bore thee;
 Let not this seem light before thee!

11. Righteous Judge of my condition,

Grant me, for my sins, remission
Ere the day which ends contrition.

12. In my guilt for pity yearning,

With my shame my face is burning—
Spare me, Lord, to thee returning!

13. Mary’s sin thou hast remitted

And the dying thief acquitted;
To my heart this hope is fitted.

14. Poorly are my prayers ascending

But do thou, in mercy bending,
Leave me not to flames unending!

15. Give me with thy sheep a station

Far from goats in separation—
On the right my habitation.

16. When the wicked meet conviction

Doomed to fires of sharp affliction,
Call me forth with benediction.

17. Prone and suppliant I sorrow,

Ashes for my heart I borrow;
Guard me on that awful morrow!

18. O, that day so full of weeping

When, in dust no longer sleeping,
Man must face his worst behavior!
Therefore spare me, God and Saviour!

255
 CHAPTER XXIV.
THOMAS AQUINAS AND JOHN BONAVENTURA.

In Southern Italy, about midway between Rome and Naples, the

road which connects these two cities passes near the site of the
ancient city of Aquinum. It was a stronghold of the Volscians,
although not mentioned in the account of their wars with the
Romans. As a Roman municipality it rose to greater importance than
the other cities of the district, and became the birthplace of the
satirist Juvenal and other eminent men. But in the seventh century it
was destroyed by the Lombards, and the site never re-occupied.
What were left of its inhabitants found another site, more capable of
defence in those wild days, and built Aquino on a mountain slope. It
runs along the cliff in a single street, like our own Mauch Chunk, and
the remains of its oldest buildings show that its mediaeval architects
drew freely upon still earlier structures for their materials.

In one of these old structures, still known as the Casa Reale or royal
house, lived the noble family who were the lords of Aquino. Here
Thomas Aquinas was born in the year 1225, being one of the five
children of Count Landulf of Aquino, and his wife, Theodora
Caraccioli, Countess of Teano. The family was not a royal house, but
it was connected by intermarriage with the royal caste of Europe. It
is said, but I have not been able to verify the statement, that
Thomas’s grandfather had married a sister of the Emperor
Barbarossa. His mother was descended from the Tancred of
Hauteville, whose sons, Roger and Robert Guiscard, effected the
Norman conquest of the two Sicilies. Sibylla, Queen of the Tancred
who ended the first line of Norman sovereigns, is said to have been
a daughter of the family. But the real importance of the lords of
Aquino was due to their strategic position on the northern frontier of
Apulia and to their military spirit. Richard of Aquino, the grandfather
of Thomas, was the mainstay of Tancred’s cause on the mainland of
Italy, and merited, by his treachery and barbarity, the cruel 256
death the Emperor Henry VI. inflicted on him after the final
conquest of the two Sicilies. His father, Landulf, seems to have been
a man of less warlike character; but his uncle, Thomas of Aquinas,
who succeeded Richard in the countship of Acerra, was the ablest of
the Ghibelline chiefs of Southern Italy, and one of Frederic the
Second’s most trusted captains. That emperor enlarged the
dominions of the family, and gave ample scope to their fighting
propensities in his wars with the popes. And Thomas’s two brothers,
who were older than himself, embraced the opportunity of a military
life. His sisters formed illustrious alliances with the noble families of
Southern Italy. Pope Honorius III. is said to have been his godfather.

Thomas’s youth seems to have been uneventful, with the exception

of the calamity by which he lost a younger sister, who was killed by
lightning while sleeping by his side. In his fifth year his education
began. Less than five miles away, as the bird flies, lay the Monte
Casino, the greatest and first of the monasteries of the Benedictine
order. Here it was that Benedict of Nursia in 529 laid the foundation
of the first great order of Western Christendom. And although Monte
Casino had shared in the calamity of Aquino at the hands of the
Lombards, and had lain desolate for a hundred and fifty years, it had
been rebuilt with new splendor, and was at this time the grandest
ecclesiastical establishment outside the city of Rome. And here, in
1227, Landulf Sinibald, himself of the Aquino family, had become
abbot, thus attaining one of the highest dignities open to a
Churchman. To his care the young Thomas was intrusted, and on
Monte Casino he spent the next seven years of his life, undergoing
the discipline and receiving the instruction for which the schools of
the Benedictine fathers had always been famous. Probably it was the
hope of the family of Aquino that the young man would enter the
order and rise to the same dignity as his uncle, becoming a prince of
the Church, and thus more powerful and wealthy than any of his
uncles or brothers.
In 1239 the second outbreak of hostilities between the Pope and the
Emperor led to the conversion of Monte Casino into a great fortress,
in which were left but eight monks to carry on the routine of
monastic services. The rest found a home in other Benedictine
houses, the schools were suspended, and Thomas returned home.
But the same year he seems to have proceeded to Naples to study in
the university which Frederic had established in 1224, and 257
amply endowed with wealth and privileges, and had revived
in 1234, after its suspension during his first war with the papacy. He
had forbidden his Italian subjects to leave the kingdom to attend
foreign universities, and he had used every available means to make
them contented with that of Naples, one of these being the
employment of the ablest teachers he could secure in all the
sciences then recognized as belonging to the higher education. We
are told that Thomas pursued his studies two years in Naples, when
the influence of his Dominican teachers led him to form the purpose
[14]
to become a Dominican friar, and to put on the garb of a novice.
This step was a most momentous one. Whether his family looked
forward to his becoming a Benedictine monk and abbot, or
contemplated his embracing the offers of promotion in the civil
service of the kingdom, which Frederic II. had held out to the 258
graduates of his pet university, they could not but regard his
adoption of the life of a mendicant friar with indignation and disgust.
To be a Benedictine Pater was to be a gentleman and a scholar, to
have a share in the influence, wealth, and power of the order, and
possibly to rise to the dignity of the Dux et Princeps omnium
Abbatum et Religiosorum, the Abbot of Monte Casino. But the
Mendicant orders were affairs of yesterday, with all the rawness if
also the effusive enthusiasm of youth. Francis of Assisi died within a
year of Thomas’s birth; Dominic, five years earlier. And the
mendicant mode of life was most offensive to the proud Italian
nobles, who must have recoiled from the idea that one of their race
should carry the beggar’s wallet in his turn, and live always upon
alms. In this respect the requirements of the orders were far stricter
and more humiliating than in later times, when the practice, if not
the rule, was relaxed. Those who were unaffected by their
enthusiasm thought of the Mendicants as the average man thinks of
the Salvation Army, or thought of the Methodists at the middle of the
last century.

No notice was sent to Aquino of the step Thomas had taken. The
monks always had their share of the wisdom of the serpent, and
they were to show it in this case. But some of the vassals of the
family had recognized the young novice under his Dominican garb
on the streets of Naples or in the church; and through them the
news reached his family. Landulf seems to have been dead; I can
find no mention of him later than 1229. But the Countess Theodora
hastened, with all a man’s energy, to rescue her son from the career
of a mendicant. The friars learned of her coming and hurried their
novice off to Rome, and to Rome his mother pursued him. To avoid
her he was sent forward to France, but he had to pass the lines of
the imperial army then engaged in the war with the Lombards. The
influence of the powerful Ghibelline family roused the vigilance of
the imperial authorities. At Acquapendente, on the frontiers of
Tuscany, Thomas and the friars who escorted him were arrested,
and the young noble was sent back to his family at Aquino.

Every means, foul as well as fair, seems to have been used to break
him from his purpose to join the Dominicans, while he remained a
prisoner at Aquino, or in some of the mountain castles of the family.
But Thomas was assured of his vocation, and he had a fund 259
of obstinacy in his character which showed to good purpose.
It is said that the Pope interfered in his behalf, but this is hardly
probable, as the Pope was waging war at the time on the Emperor
and his vassals, the Lords of Aquino. At last the countess and her
children abandoned the attempt to influence him, and at least
connived at his escape to Naples, where he took the vows of
obedience, celibacy, and poverty, which sealed his connection with
the Dominican order, in 1243.
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