Flower 2010, p. 133. "As has been persuasively argued, Sulla conceived of his dictatorship in quasi-republican terms, as a special office undertaken to perform a specific task, namely, the establishment of a constitutional (republican) form of government". Flower, Harriet (2010). Roman republics. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN978-0-691-14043-8.
Wilson 2021, pp. 333, 334. "A dictator's purpose was to move Rome backward, reverting it to the condition of normality in which it existed before the need or crisis arose that required resolution" (emphasis in original). Wilson, Mark (2021). Dictator: the evolution of the Roman dictatorship. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN978-0-472-12920-1. OCLC1243162549.
Wilson 2021, p. 89. If a consul were trapped, there would be only one consul able to move about, necessitating a dictator; if the consuls are both occupied at war, a dictator might be appointed to hold elections; if one of the consuls were killed, a dictator might be appointed as substitute before a successor could be elected. Wilson, Mark (2021). Dictator: the evolution of the Roman dictatorship. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN978-0-472-12920-1. OCLC1243162549.
Lintott 1999, p. 111. "The quarrel between L. Papirius Cursor and his master of horse Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus seems [to illustrate] that the dictator's supreme power did not necessarily extend into the city... [it also showed] that the power of a dictator did not override that of the tribunes—a point attested also by the tradition about appeals against the dictator C. Maenius, and by the threat of a tribune to veto an election held by a dictator". On the threatened veto of elections, see Livy 27.6.2–11. Lintott, Andrew (1999). The constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-815068-7. OCLC39706770.
Wilson 2021, pp. 248 et seq, 252–53, 256. Wilson, Mark (2021). Dictator: the evolution of the Roman dictatorship. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN978-0-472-12920-1. OCLC1243162549.
Wilson 2021, p. 269. "It is not a coincidence that the first years of extensive use of the proconsulship overlapped with the last years of reliance on the dictatorship". Wilson, Mark (2021). Dictator: the evolution of the Roman dictatorship. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN978-0-472-12920-1. OCLC1243162549.
Wilson 2021, p. 290-91. "Valerius likely oversaw not an election per se... but the passage of a law naming Sulla dictator, following the manner established for Fabius Maximus". Wilson, Mark (2021). Dictator: the evolution of the Roman dictatorship. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN978-0-472-12920-1. OCLC1243162549.
Badian, Ernst (2012). "Cornelius, Sulla Felix, Lucius". In Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (eds.). The Oxford classical dictionary (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 384, 385. ISBN978-0-19-954556-8. OCLC959667246.
Wilson 2021, p. 304. Citing Suet. Iul. 9.1. Wilson, Mark (2021). Dictator: the evolution of the Roman dictatorship. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN978-0-472-12920-1. OCLC1243162549.
Wilson 2021, p. 305, describing the dictatorship as "a sword lying ready for any[one] with the stature and ambition to take it up [to the benefit] of the dictator and his faction". Wilson, Mark (2021). Dictator: the evolution of the Roman dictatorship. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN978-0-472-12920-1. OCLC1243162549.
Lintott 1999, p. 111. "The quarrel between L. Papirius Cursor and his master of horse Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus seems [to illustrate] that the dictator's supreme power did not necessarily extend into the city... [it also showed] that the power of a dictator did not override that of the tribunes—a point attested also by the tradition about appeals against the dictator C. Maenius, and by the threat of a tribune to veto an election held by a dictator". On the threatened veto of elections, see Livy 27.6.2–11. Lintott, Andrew (1999). The constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-815068-7. OCLC39706770.