State Reason in German Baroque Dramatist Lohenstein's Cleopatra

Lohenstein is an important dramatist of German baroque drama in the seventeenth century. Cleopatra is his masterpiece. By shaping the monarch, displaying ways of strengthening the state and political behavior patterns leading to the decline of the state, Lohenstein realizes the creative appeal of providing emotional education and political mirrors for the monarch. On the issue of state reason, Lohenstein was influenced by Lipsius, Fajardo, and Gracian. He advocated that the monarch should have state reason that does not violate the principles of ethics, and rule by virtue of maximizing political interests. In this drama, we see a certain eclecticism in his view of state reason.