When beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the oceanโs skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang.
Herman MelvilleLet America first praise mediocrity even, in her children, before she praises... the best excellence in the children of any other land.
Herman MelvilleI cherish the greatest respect towards everybody's religious obligations, no matter how comical.
Herman Melville