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OF THE VOID IN THE BOOK

OF THE PNEUMATICS FOR

THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORK.

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Many have universally said, or rather affirmed, that there is no empty place; others think there is no accumulated Void, but that it exists by means of certain small parts disseminated in the Air, in the Water, in the Fire, and in other bodies, and it is necessary to assent to these. But regarding everything that falls under the senses and that appears manifest, we shall endeavor in the following to show that it is so, and not otherwise. As an example of this, we say that vessels seem empty to many who do not consider further, but they are not empty as they think; rather, they are filled with Air. And Air, as it pleases the Natural philosophers, is composed of small and light bodies, for the most part not understood nor seen by us. For if one pours water into the vessel that, as we have said, appears empty to us, as much water as enters the vessel, so much air will come out of it, from which everyone will be able to understand what we have said above. And one will also understand that if someone takes the vessel (which, as we say, will seem empty to us) and immerses it upside down in water, holding it straight, there is no doubt that water will not enter into it, even if it is pushed with force entirely under the water; from which it becomes clear to us that, since air is a body, it will not permit water to enter, because the entire space that is in the vessel is filled with air. And this is seen when the vessel is taken out of the water; for by holding it upright, its interior surface will be found to be dry and clean as it was before it was immersed in the water. But if, as it is said, while the vessel is upside down and straight in the water, one were to bore a hole in the bottom, the water will enter through its mouth, and the air will come out through the said hole. From which we must judge that Air is a body, which, when moved, becomes spirito spirit/breath, since spirit is nothing other than moved air. And if the vessel is bored at the bottom and immersed in the water, and one puts a hand over the hole, without a doubt one will feel the spirit that comes out of it, and this is nothing other than Air driven out by the water. Nor must we judge that a certain accumulated nature persists in these that are empty, but

rather that it exists according to some small parts disseminated in the Air, in the Water, and in other bodies. If by chance there is anyone who believes that something is entirely deprived of every void, consider the Diamond alone, as it can neither be burned nor broken; rather, when placed upon anvils and struck with very heavy hammers, it enters into them, into both the anvils and the hammers. Nor should this be attributed to it because, by its solid nature, it is deprived of Void, but because of the continuous density that is in it. For since the small bodies of fire are larger than the Void that is in the stone, they do not enter into its body, but stop on the exterior surface; from which it happens that, not penetrating inside them, they do not induce heat, as happens in other bodies. But the bodies of air have among themselves a certain coherence, not in every part, however, but through certain interspersed intervals, which we will call Voids, as in the sand that is on the shores. This makes us understand in our mind that the small particles of sand are similar to the aerial bodies, and that the Air interspersed between the particles of sand is similar to the Voids contained within the Air; which, forced by violent strength, must (entering into the empty places) condense. Those bodies are forced and compressed, and their Nature violated; which (once the force that pushed it is relaxed and released) must return again to its order through the natural contention that is between natural bodies; as happens in pieces of horn and in dry sponges, which, if compressed, release themselves, returning to the place of before, and take on the same bulk again. The same happens if, by violent force, the small particles of Air are pulled apart, and because of this the empty space becomes larger than its Nature permits; they return again into themselves. For by the sudden evacuation, the bodies must return again into themselves and to themselves, notwithstanding whatever thing might contrast them. This is seen if someone takes a very light vessel and, through its narrow mouth, sucks out the breath or the air that is inside with their mouth; then, immediately released, said vessel will hang from the lips of that person, and the Void will attract the flesh, as its nature forces it to do, until the empty place is filled; which most clearly demonstrates to us that the space that is in the body of the vessel was totally empty. But this is also manifest from this other reason. Those vessels that are called medical ventose cupping glasses, which are made of glass with a very small mouth, when one wants to fill them with water, they suck through the mouth: the air then, immediately immersing them in the water, in which, removed from the mouth, the finger is pulled upward by the Void; from which one sees the empty place fill up, and that water, by the force of the void, is forced to be carried upward against its nature. And that which is clear from all of this is certainly not alien to what we have discussed above, it being most certain that, once the body is removed, not only is the manifest gravity not released, but the underlying matter is drawn in by the rarity of the body for the same reason. But if fire is placed in them, it corrupts and thins the air contained by them, no less than other bodies are corrupted by these bodies and transmuted into more subtle substances, I say, Air, Water, and Earth; and that they are corrupted by it is manifest from scorched coals, which, keeping the same bulk that they had before combustion, or little less, are however of much less weight, and those substances...