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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FRAGMENT ON ALCHEMY by REGINALD HEBER

First Line: SO FARES THE SAGE, WHOSE MYSTIC LABOURS TRY
Last Line: THE BRIGHT-WING'D RADIANCE BURSTS OF INFANT GOLD.
Subject(s): ALCHEMY & ALCHEMISTS;
* * * * *

So fares the sage, whose mystic labours try
The thorny path 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 perform'd, and labour sped,
When the clear furnace dawns with sacred red,
From forth the genial warmth and teeming mould,
The bright-wing'd radiance bursts of infant gold.



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