143 tyrannical manner. Schefferus sometimes used terms such as horrendus to describe certain parts of Thomas Hobbes’ theory of natural law. However, in one of the versions of SciagraphiaJurisNaruraewhich Schefferus dictated tothe Uppsala students during the autumn of 1675, one observes a strikingshift in his views, that is, a shift in the direction of Hobbes. Schefferus in 1675 presented the matter thus: the subjects cede all of their rights to the ruler. No possibility existed of making resistance against »the possessor of the highest power.» Accordingto the author this shift inviewmust clearly be placed in relation tothe contemporary political development in Sweden. In the year 1675 Charles XI was crowned as king over the great power, Sweden. The aristocracy had made several attempts to limit the authority of the monarch, but the result of the struggle was that Charles XI was made the absolute monarch. Obviously, the University education was directed partially toward the support of the antiaristocratic powers at the time which, above all, had at their disposal an absolute monarch.
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