In the central scene of Schiller’s Don Carlos, first performed in Hamburg on 29 August 1787, the Marquis Posa speaks to King Philip II of Spain. Twice he tells the king: Ich kann nicht Fürstendiener sein. (I cannot be a servant of princes.) Then he makes his demand: Ein Federzug von dieser Hand, und neu / Erschaffen wird die Erde. Geben Sie / Gedankenfreiheit. (One stroke of the pen from this hand, and the earth is created anew. Give freedom of thought.) In the text, the demand runs across a line break. The king answers: Sonderbarer Schwärmer! (Strange dreamer!)