Preface When we published our first volume on the theory of interpretation, we entitled it The Responsibility of Hermeneutics. We did so because we emphasized that interpretation was merely one of many forms of human action. As such, it has an unmistakably ethical character. To read a text of any kind — be it a novel, a musical score, or the action of another human being — is to respond to a given reality which makes a claim upon our lives. Learning how to respond to such texts with integrity, creativity,