Proverb Question

[Fred Shapiro]

The earliest occurrence I have found for the proverb "A chain is no
stronger than its weakest link" (in that exact wording) is dated 1861.  Is
anyone able to uncover an earlier example than that?

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
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