Now, what did it mean to be an absolute ruler?

那么绝对统治者到底意味着什么呢

耶鲁公开课 - 欧洲文明课程节选

Part of being an absolute ruler is being able to levy taxes against those people who have the joy or the extreme misfortune of living in those domains, and more about that later.

绝对统治者的一个权利,就是能向那些领土内的富商巨贾,或是一贫如洗的穷人征收赋税,这个稍后再详说

耶鲁公开课 - 欧洲文明课程节选

Because he is an absolute ruler.

由于他是绝对统治者

耶鲁公开课 - 欧洲文明课程节选

Moved by a combination of reason and fear, Hobbes believed, human beings will contract with each other to create a sovereign - an absolute ruler who will prevent any slide into anarchy.

BBC: A Point of View: A time when violence is normal

Such insights seemed virtually impossible for the absolute ruler of an organization bound by tradition to the point of sclerosis.

FORBES: The Pope's Resignation: In Praise Of Quitting