By this point the narrator has observed four things: a frail wandering figure, an emotionally charged voice, richly rhymed admonition, and an audience gathered closely around the man. He moves toward the speaker to learn something from him.
Key expression: “Fa-dalaftu ilayhi li-aqtabisa min fawāʾidihi wa-altaqiṭa baʿḍa farāʾidihi”—he draws near to collect useful and exceptional sayings.
The preacher’s direct address begins next; the following level will study that address and its rhetorical force.