 The constraints which Hamann places on the interpreter’s subjectivity are not those usually advocated, therefore: an avoidance of prejudice and pre-conceptions; an amnesia for one’s own history, tradition and culture; an obedience to exegetical rules. The first restraint on subjective distortion is the interpreter’s own common sense; the last is the reaction of the text itself: “what are you trying to make of me?” The interpreter’s freedom is inextricable from the interpreter’s respect and responsibility, in Hamann’s view.