E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Golden Chain.
“Faith is the golden chain to link the penitent sinner unto God” (Jeremy Taylor). The allusion is to a passage in Homer’s I liad (i. 19–30), where Zeus says, If a golden chain were let down from heaven, and all the gods and goddesses pulled at one end, they would not be able to pull him down to earth; whereas he could lift with ease all the deities and all created things besides with his single might.
