Cicero’s family

As it turns out, Cicero – a great Roman orator and lawyer from the 1st century BCE – was a kind of kidding person, even from his immediate family.

Marcus Tullius Cicero’s brother, Quintus was of short stature. Once, Cicero, while visiting him in the province, saw his portrait. Quintus was armed with a circular shield that was extremely large along with the chest, compared to the entire silhouette. When Cicero saw his brother’s bust he said, “Half of my brother is bigger than all of him.”

Another time, when he saw his son-in-law – Dolabella (whom, incidentally, he did not like) – also of short stature, paraded with a long sword, he said: “Who has girded my son-in-law to that sword?”