Heinrich Hertz is one of the great historical figures in physics.
Hertz was the first to experimentally confirm James Clerk Maxwell. In 1887, at the age of 30, he made the revolutionary discovery that would immortalize his name; the international unit for electromagnetic waves was named "Hertz" in his honor.
Tragically, Hertz's life was cut short by a serious illness. He suffered from septicemia, which led to his early death. In his last lecture, which he gave at the Bonn University of Applied Sciences in 1893, he addressed his students:
“If anything should happen to me” - he said –
“you should not grieve, but be glad that I will then be one of the chosen ones who live only for a short time and yet live enough. I did not wish for this fate, but I have to be happy with what I am given. If I had a choice to make, I might have chosen this myself.”
On January 1, 1894, Heinrich Hertz died.
He was only 36 years old at the time.
In this last lecture he gave, Hertz demonstrated a stoic acceptance of his fate, which consists of accepting his lot with courage and serenity.
Hertz acknowledged that his life was short, but that it was enough to make significant contributions to science and to make the most of the time allotted to him. In his words, he expressed the essence of Stoic philosophy: life should not be seen as a number of years, but as an opportunity to make a difference and realize oneself.
His willingness to accept death
without fear or regret
is a wonderful reminder of this central theme of Stoicism: a life well lived is not defined by its duration, but by its contribution to the common good and the sense of having made the most of one's abilities in the time given.