Quintus Cicero, the tribunate, and the Commentariolum Petitionis

This paper, which was delivered at CAMWS (The Classical Association of the Middle West and South) on April 8, 2021, makes the point that there is a tension between the very negative viewpoint that the character of Quintus Cicero presents in the De legibus about the tribunate and the positive attitude that the supposed author of the Commentariolum Petitionis, namely Quintus Cicero, expresses about C. Aurelius Cotta (cos. 75 B.C.), whose legislation restored the prestige of the tribunate. This tension can best be explained by Alexander's thesis that Quintus Cicero was not the real author of the Comm. Pet., that readers were expected to notice the incongruity, and thereby perceive the ironic nature of the Comm. Pet.