Sentence:  The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted, and that the elixir of life is a chimera. But these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to <WSD>dabble</WSD> in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To cause splashing by moving a body part like a bill or limb in soft mud, water, etc., often playfully; to play in shallow water; to paddle.