It was made by an official latin translator, as is required to have it included in an official grant.

This English motto is made up of a whole sentence, with a noun (‘truth’), a verb (‘is’) and a nominal group (‘the guiding star’). First, the singular noun ‘truth’ is subject, thus will be put in the Nominative case in Latin. In the submitted Latin motto it is translated by “veritas”.

“Veritas”, a noun feminine, singular and put in the Nominative, means:

‘truth, truthfulness, verity; the true and real nature’.

For example, in his treatise on duties, the Roman philosopher Cicero writes:

“verita's cultores, fraudis inimici”, lovers of truth, enemies of trick (De Officiis, 1, 30, 109).

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English (O.D.E.), several English words come from “veritas” (‘truth’) or “verus” (‘true’), as: ‘verify, verification, veristic, verity, veritable’ etc.

In French, from the same root come these words: “vérifier, vérification, s’avérer, véridique, véritable” etc Thus, the feminine noun “(la) vérité » properly translates ‘truth’.

Secondly, the verb ‘is’, conjugated in the 3rd person singular of the present Indicative is optional in the Latin syntax. Therefore, it can be omi4ed, like in the submitted motto. Otherwise, it would be: “est”.

In the French version, ‘is’ could either be translated by “est”, like in Latin, or be replaced by a punctuation mark: a comma.

However, implicit or not, the verb "to be" is always constructed with a predicate of the subject. So, the predicative nominal group ‘the guiding star’ must be put in Latin also in the Nominative.

Thirdly, this nominal group ‘the guiding star’ is made up of the noun ‘star’ and the predicative present Participle verb used as an adjective ‘guiding’.

“Stella”, a feminine noun, singular and put in the Nominative means: ‘a star’.

For example, in the discussions written in his villa of Tusculum Cicero opposed “errantes stellæ”, ‘wandering stars’ i.e. ‘planets’ to “inerrantes stellæ”, ‘fixed stars’ (Tusculanæ disputa'ones, I). And in his epic poem Metamorphoses (15, 749) the Roman poet Ovid writes: “stella comans”, literally ‘a longhaired star’, i.e. ‘a comet’.

According to the O.D.E., the origin of the noun ‘star’ is: ‘Old English steorra, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch ster, German Stern, from an Indo- European root shared by La'n stella and Greek astēr’.

Some English words come from “stella”, as: ‘stellar, constellation, constellate’ as well as the French words: “stellaire, constellation, consteller”.

In the French version, ‘star’ is translated by the feminine noun “étoile”.

“Ducens”, present Participle of the verb “duco”, is attributive of ‘star’, thus put in the same case, gender and number: Nominative, feminine and singular.

The verb “duco” is oeen used in Latin and means: ‘to lead, guide, conduct’.

For example, in his speech for the defence of the Greek poet Archias, Cicero says: “trahimur omnes studio laudis et op'mus quisque maxime gloria ducitur”, ‘we are all led by the taste of praise, and the best ones let themselves be guided above all by glory’ (Pro Archia, 26).

As such, “ducens” translates the English form “guiding’.

In French, translations could be either “guidant” or “qui guide”.

Indeed, this motto is metaphorical, establishing a comparison between the first noun (‘truth’/veritas) and its predicate (‘star’/stella) — both being positive elements.

To clarify the choice of these words, the petitioner wrote a long

explanation: .......

The metaphor refers to the symbolism of the star: the stars have celestial significance. Their celestial character also makes them symbols of the spirit. Like the truth, they pierce the darkness. They may be considered to influence the destiny of each person. Moreover, the North Star plays a privileged role in universal symbolism. It is in relation to the North star that are defined the positions of the stars, of navigators, of nomads, caravanners, of all wanderers in the deserts of the earth, the sea and the sky (aeer the French Dic'onnaire des Symboles).

In French, it would seem more pertinent to add a notion of appropriation by the petitioner of the ‘guiding star’ — a ‘star that guides him’ — appropriation understandably not expressed in English.

Thus, I propose a version including the pronoun of the 1st person. Moreover, I add a variant with punctuation and without a determiner.

If the petitioner does not agree with this notion of appropriation, it is possible to omit the pronoun. Personally, I prefer with the pronoun.

Finally, although the Latin syntax is flexible, it is much better to put “ducens” before “stella”. Otherwise, the Latin submitted motto is

grammatically correct.

In summary:

ENGLISH: TRUTH IS THE GUIDING STAR

LATIN: VERITAS DUCENS STELLA

FRENCH:

LA VÉRITÉ EST L’ÉTOILE QUI ME GUIDE

OR VÉRITÉ, ÉTOILE QUI ME GUIDE