The folly of mistaking a paradox for a discovery, a metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and oneself for an oracle, is inborn in us.

Valéry is diagnosing a recurring intellectual vice: our tendency to confuse rhetorical brilliance with genuine knowledge. A paradox can feel like a “discovery” because it surprises; a metaphor can masquerade as a “proof” because it persuades imaginatively; and sheer fluency (“a torrent of verbiage”) can be mistaken for deep insight (“capital truths”). The final clause—taking oneself for an oracle—names the ego that underwrites these errors. The sentence reads like a warning from a writer deeply concerned with the discipline of thought and the difference between poetic power and logical warrant: it urges skepticism toward our own convictions and toward language’s ability to simulate understanding.