Si luxuriae semper cedis, divitiae cito discedunt.

Because the verb cedere often takes the dative of the person or thing you yield to, give way to, or submit to.

So:

• luxuria = luxury, extravagance
• luxuriae = to luxury

In this sentence, cedis does not mean leave or go away; it means you yield/give in. So luxuriae cedis means you yield to luxury or you give in to luxury.

Cedis is from cedere. In this sentence it means:

• you yield
• you give way
• you give in

So semper cedis means you always yield or you always give in.

A learner might expect cedere to mean something like go or withdraw, and it can have related meanings in other contexts, but here the idea is specifically yielding to something.

Because Latin verbs usually include the subject inside the verb ending.

• cedis = you yield
• the ending -s shows 2nd person singular

So Latin does not need to add a separate tu unless it wants emphasis.

Cedis is present tense, active voice, indicative mood, 2nd person singular.

That means it literally means you are yielding or you yield. In English, the simple present often works best in this kind of general statement:

• If you always yield to luxury...

Latin often uses the present tense for general truths or repeated behavior.

Because divitiae is one of those Latin nouns that is usually used in the plural even though in English we often translate it with a more singular-looking word such as wealth.

So:

• divitiae = riches, wealth
• grammatically plural in Latin

That is why the verb is also plural:

• divitiae ... discedunt = riches depart

Because its subject, divitiae, is plural.

• divitiae = riches, wealths/riches
• discedunt = they depart

If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.

Discedunt comes from discedere, meaning:

• depart
• go away
• leave

So divitiae cito discedunt means riches quickly depart or more naturally wealth quickly disappears.

Latin often uses vivid, almost physical verbs where English might prefer a more abstract one.

Cito is an adverb meaning quickly or soon.

It modifies discedunt:

• divitiae cito discedunt = riches quickly depart

So it tells you how the riches depart.

Si means if. It introduces the condition:

• Si luxuriae semper cedis = If you always yield to luxury

Then the main clause gives the result:

• divitiae cito discedunt = riches quickly depart

This is a straightforward present general condition:

• if X happens, Y happens

It describes what generally happens, not a one-time future event.

Latin often uses the present tense to express a general truth or a habitual result.

So the sentence is not mainly saying:

• If you do this someday, then this will happen someday

It is saying more like:

• Whenever a person always gives in to luxury, wealth quickly disappears

That is why present tense fits well.

Semper means always, and it modifies cedis.

So:

• semper cedis = you always yield

In English, you would usually place it before the verb:

• If you always yield to luxury...

Latin word order is flexible, so semper could move around more freely than always usually can in English.

Here it has a negative sense: luxury, extravagance, or self-indulgence.

The sentence suggests that giving in to luxury causes wealth to vanish. So luxuriae is not neutral here; it refers to excessive or ruinous luxury.

You could in a loose paraphrase, but riches or wealth is closer.

• divitiae suggests riches, wealth, resources, or possessions
• money is narrower

So a closer translation would be:

• If you always yield to luxury, riches quickly depart.

A more natural English version might be:

• If you always give in to luxury, your wealth soon disappears.

Yes, though not in a way that changes the basic grammar.

The sentence is arranged neatly in two balanced parts:

• Si luxuriae semper cedis
• divitiae cito discedunt

The case endings tell you the grammar, so Latin does not rely on word order as much as English does. Still, the order helps the sentence flow clearly:

1. condition introduced by si
2. behavior: you always yield to luxury
3. result: riches quickly depart

So the word order is natural and emphatic, but the endings are what really show the relationships.