Most loss of life and property has been due to the collapse of antiquated and unsafe structures, mostly of brick and other masonry. ... There is progress of California toward building new construction according to earthquake-resistant design. We would have less reason to ask for earthquake prediction if this was universal.

Refining is inevitable in science when you have made measurements of a phenomenon for a long period of time.

Don't wait for extraordinary circumstance to do good; try to use ordinary situations.

Only fools, liars, and charlatans predict earthquakes

There is nothing more beautiful than cheerfulness in an old face, and among country people it is always a sign of a well-regulated life.

Lately there have been complaints that the use of the magnitude scale is confusing, or at least the reporting of magnitudes in the newspapers 'confuses the public.

I was lucky because logarithmic plots are a device of the devil.