[Probus] and Ecl. 2.45-48

[falmouth]

I wonder whether anyone could help me understanding the following:

The below comes from [Probus]' introduction to the Eclogues -

‘Carmen bucolicum legem habere videtur, uti versus eius quartus pes partem orationis finiat, quod Theocritus custodivit. Nam Vergilius in primo versu attendit, sequentem protinus alia forma fecit. Bucolica Theocritus facilius videtur fecisse, quoniam graecus sermo sic videtur divisus, ut Doris dialectus, qua ille scripsit, rustica habeatur. Opportunum fuit ergo ei qui pastores inferebat ea lingua disputasse. Vergilio tanto factum opus maius, quanto una lingua loquens sensus rusticos aptare elaboravit sine reprehensione sermonis. Sunt quaedam propria, heroico carmini sublimia, sed in bucolico humilia, quae apte divisisse Vergilius notatus est. Nam cum Aeneas gratias Didoni ageret eiusque se, quamdiu natura rerum stetisset, memoriam habiturum confiteretur, sic ait:
In freta dum fluvii current, dum montibus umbrae
lustrabunt convexa, polus dum sidera pascet,
[Aen. 1.607-8]
Sic et Tityrus, cum beneficiis Augusti gratias ageret, rerum naturae perpetuitatem congruentibus sensibus tractavit sic:
Ante leves ergo pascentur in aethere cervi
et freta destituent nudos in litore pisces
[Ecl. 1.59]

In hoc etiam carmine, quosdam versus posuit, qui possent heroico carmini aptari, ut sunt:
Huc ades, o formose puer, tibi lilia plenis
ecce ferunt Nymphae calathis; tibi candida Nais
pallentis violas et summa papavera carpens,
narcissum et florem iungit bene olentis anethi
[Ecl. 2.45-8]
et quoniam intellegebat sublimius se dixisse, novissimum versum attenuavit, quo rustico carmen aptius fecit.’
[Prob.] Praef. in Buc. (326.22-327.23 Thilo-Hagen)

The first two examples can be fairly readily understood: [Probus] seems to be saying that Vergil could skilfully adapt the same topic to the different registers of bucolic and epic. I wonder whether he or his source was, in fact, saying more: since both of the passages adduced in the first two examples are conspicuous allusions/adaptations of Lucretius; i.e. can this be a coincidence given that [Probus] refers to 'rerum natura' in introducing both examples? The relevant passages of Lucretius are set out below:

In freta dum fluvii current, dum montibus umbrae
lustrabunt convexa, polus dum sidera pascet,
Aen. 1.607-8

unde mare ingenuei fontes externaque longe 230
flumina suppeditant? unde aether sidera pascit?
omnia enim debet, mortali corpore quae sunt,
infinita aetas consumpse ante acta diesque.
Lucr. 1.230-3

The reference to Lucretius is obvious both from the subject matter (rivers supplying the sea, the aether feeding stars) and from the repeated striking phrase ‘sidera pascit’ and is well-known: cf. (Austin 1971 ad loc.).

Ante leves ergo pascentur in aethere cervi
et freta destituent nudos in litore pisces
Ecl. 1.59-60

Denique in aethere non arbor, non aequore in alto
nubes esse queunt nec pisces vivere in arvis 785
nec cruor in lignis neque saxis sucus inesse.
Lucr. 3.784-6 (=Lucr. 5.784-6)

The reference to Lucretius is again obvious and well-known: cf. (Clausen 1994 ad Ecl. 1.59) ‘But V. was thinking here of Lucr. 3.784-5’; (Lipka 2001, 69) ‘Thematic similarities (a in the air, b in the water) like linguistic ones (‘in aethere’ instead of ‘in aere’) undoubtedly demonstrate that Vergil is here referring to Lucr.’.

The third reference is puzzling since it is difficult to imagine verses more suited to pastoral and less suited to 'heroico carmine'. They also reflect Theoc. 11.56-59 (Polyphemus' would-be gifts to Galatea, Theoc. 11 being a central model for Ecl. 2). If anything, if these verses were not suited to bucolic, they are elegiac - the gifts to the lover etc. So what is [Probus] saying here - specifically, what does 'novissimum versum attenuavit' mean?

The possible interpretation that I have in mind is that [Probus] is trying to say that Vergil has adapted a model from *neoteric* poetry and that 'heroico carmine' means, in essence, epyllion (although that term itself may be anachronistic). On a related topic, is it known whether the actual Probus wrote in Latin or Greek?

Any help gratefully received, even if its just a pointer to where I can look further.