Si luxuriae semper cedis, divitiae cito discedunt.

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Breakdown of Si luxuriae semper cedis, divitiae cito discedunt.

• semper: always
• cito: quickly
• discedere: to go away

Questions & Answers about Si luxuriae semper cedis, divitiae cito discedunt.

Why is luxuriae in the dative case?

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.

What exactly does cedis mean here?

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.

Why is cedis translated as you yield even though there is no separate word for you?

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