Herman Melville (1819-1891) was an American writer best known for the novel Moby-Dick. His first three books gained much contemporary attention, but after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously and never recovered during his lifetime.
. . . for there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men. -- from the book