Let us make a sphere of metal, out of melted tin, very well closed on every side, and let us introduce by one aperture a metal siphon all the way to the middle. It must be said beyond doubt that that is full of air. Further, the waterclock of a garden, by which many have tried to establish that there is no vacuum, has shown the contrary, namely that there can be a vacuum in it. For if it has in the bottom little apertures, and if you close the upper orifice is closed with your finger, the water does not pour out through those little apertures of the base. And it does not admit a vacuum.
Experience then shows what the case is.
Indeed, if the Clepsydra be filled with sand, since it is heavier than water it flows out at once through those little apertures. Both honey and oil do the same thing. If we likewise fill some vessel with water, or oil, or wine, and it is totally closed, then when exposed in winter to the coldest weather, that liquid hardens into ice. And it makes part of the vessel empty. Anyone can experience all of these things for himself.