The elder is offered a chance to turn his literary distinction into office, yet he declines. The text associates his resistance with notions such as ḥayāʾ (modesty or reserve) and ibāʾ (unwillingness to submit or accept).
The story does not establish that all administrative posts are bad. It portrays a particular character weighing livelihood, rank, independence and official obligation. His refusal is deliberate, and the subsequent poem gives his own reasons.
In his closing verses he explains this choice through the uncertainty of office and his preference for independence.