and toil of the world be thine; in them shalt thou eat thy bread." Gower argues for divinely ordained labour as alternative to the popular verse: When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman? Chapter 9 contains the passage which foreshadows the Revolt of 1381. The unruly serf is compared to a weed in a field of grain. "Unless it is struck down first, the peasant race strikes against freemen, no matter what nobility or worth they possess.". Like weeds they should be removed. Wickert observes: "Of course, one does not expect sympathies for the agricultural worker, be he bound or free, in a country squire of the time -- even before the Peasants' Revolt." Subsequent chapters decry the sins of urban workers and money lenders. Novak counted fifty chapters discussing faults of the clergy versus five chapters on workers. Chapter 15 begins with a condemnation of a mayor who "kindles malice among his fellow citizens". John Northampton who "was popular with the poorer classes" is the most probable object of Gower's disapprobation. The final chapter censors the talebearer who "utters many slanders in abuse of people". Book VI Lawyers & Advice for a Prince The first three chapters are a condemnation of lawyers. Stockton observed: "Chapter 2, which is written with real feeling, ironically places Gower on the same side as the peasants, who hated lawyers and attacked them in the Great Revolt." Scholars are divided on how Gower obtained his legal knowledge. His translator observed: "The first four chapters of Book VI should effectively dispose of the conjecture that Gower was a lawyer. He condemns them uncompromisingly." Meindl argues that Gower only condemns false lawyers. Fisher observes that Gower "emphasizes legal justice and regal responsibility". What Wickert calls the "Mirror for a Prince" runs from Chapter 7 to Chapter 18. Much of the advice is created from contemporary truisms and thus not need a systematic foundation. The king must govern himself and be governed by law. Much of the advice is a conventional catalog of virtues. The damage to a kingdom which can be inflicted by a wicked leader is discussed in Chapter 7. The pleas for justice lacks conceptual clarity and is permeated with ideas from the Bible and Cicero's De re publica Bad counsel from elders given to the boy king was condemned in the first version. The final version blames youthful comrades