But, if it hath already penetrated, and overcome the Continuity of the water, & is of its own nature more grave than the said water, why doth it not proceed in its sinking, but stop and suspend its self within that little dimple or cavitie, which with its ponderosity it hath made in the water? I answer; because that in submerging it self, so far as till its Superficies come to the Levell with that of the water, it loseth a part of its Gravity, and loseth the rest of it as it submergeth & descends beneath the Surface of the water, which maketh Ramperts and Banks round about it, and it sustaines this loss by means of its drawing after it, and carrying along with it, the Air that is above it, and by Contact adherent to it, which Air succeeds to fill the Cavity that is invironed by the Ramperts of water; so that that which in this case descends and is placed in the water, is not only the Board of Ebony or Plate of Iron, but a composition of Ebony and Air, from which resulteth a Solid no longer superiour in Gravity to the water, as was the simple Ebony, or the simple Gold. And, if we exactly consider, what, and how great the Solid is, that in this Experiment enters into the water, and contrasts with the Gravity of the same, it will be found to be all that which we find to be beneath the Surface of the water, the which is an aggregate and Compound of a Board of Ebony, and of almost the like quantity of Air, or a Mass compounded of a Plate of Lead, and ten or twelve times as much Air. But, Gentlemen, you that are my Antagonists in our Question, we require the Identity of Matter, and the alteration only of the Figure; therefore, you must remove that Air, which being conjoyned with the Board, makes it become another Body less grave than the Water, and put only the Ebony into the Water, and you shall certainly see the Board descend to the Bottom; and, if that do not happen, you have got the day. And to seperate the Air from the Ebony[44], there needs no more but only to bath the Superficies of the said Board with the same Water: for the Water being thus interposed between the Board and the Air, the other circumfused Water shall run together without any impediment, and shall receive into it the sole and bare Ebony, as it was to do. [44] How to seperate the Air from Solids in demitting them into the water. But, me thinks I hear some of the Adversaries cunningly opposing this, and telling me, that they will not yield, by any means, that their Board be wetted, because the weight added thereto by the Water, by making it heavier than it was before, draws it to the Bottom, and that the addition of new weight is contrary to our agreement, which was, that the Matter be the same.