Fragment on Alchemy

So fares the sage, whose mystic labours try
The thorny paths of fabled alchemy.
Time, toil, and prayer, to aid the work conspire,
And the keen jaws of dross-devouring fire.
In one dim pile discordant embers blaze,
And stars of adverse influence join their rays;
Till every rite performed, and labour sped,
When the clear furnace dawns with sacred red,
From forth the genial warmth and teeming mould
The bright-winged radiance bursts of infant gold.