De Eloquentia

Here is today's distich by Michele Verinus; the poem alludes to the great poet from the city of Thebes, Pindar. It was supposedly because of Pindar's eloquence that Alexander the Great spared Pindar's house when he conquered the city. Thebes, however, was in Boeotia, generally reputed to be a cultural backwater; the ancient Boeotian was considered something like a "country bumpkin" by definition.

De Eloquentia
Nil adeo incultum, quod non ratione nitescat;
Thebarum haec altas vexit ad astra domos.

Here is the vocabulary:

de - about, concerning
eloquentia - fair speech, eloquence
nil - nothing
adeo - to such a degree, indeed
incultus - uncouth, brutish
qui - who, which, that
non - not
ratio - reckoning, plan, reasoning
nitesco - shine
Thebae - Thebes
hic - this, this one
altus - high, tall
veho - bear, carry
ad - to, towards
astrum - star
domus - house, home

(ruins of Thebes)