This work can be
desire, which means
to be present for failure.
The world allows
and becomes absurd
to expect importance.
After all, what is
left behind but
the will to be perfect.

From pages 1-3 of The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery by Auguste Escoffier, translated by H. L. Cracknell and R. J. Kaufmann (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1979).