The term “silent majority” has been used honestly for centuries, but it originally was used to refer to the dead. “The majority” or “the silent majority” can be traced back to the Roman writer Gaius Petronius Arbiter (c 27-66AD), (Arbiter meaning “judge of elegance”) who lived during the reign of Nero. He wrote Satyricon liber (The Book of Satyrlike Adventures). He wrote, “Why, not a drop of water or a crumb of bread so much as passed his lips for five days; and yet he joined the majority! ” abiit ad plures (he is gone to the majority). Petronius used this term to describe the dead since they outnumber the living. President Richard Nixon, in a televised address on November 3rd, 1969, said:
“And so tonight—to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support.”
The term…
