SICERA. They call by this Name any inebriating Liquor: Vinum & Siceram non bibet. The Author of the Vulgate sometimes preserves the Word Sicera; at other times he translates it by Omne quod inebriare potest. St. Chrysostom1, Theodoret2, and Theophilus of Antioch3, who were Syrians, and who therefore ought to know the Signification and Nature of Sicera, assure us, that it properly signifies Palm-wine. Pliny acknowledges, that the Wine of the Palm-tree was very well known through all the East, and that it was made, by taking a Bushel of the Dates of the Palm-tree, and throwing them into three Gallons of Water; then squeezing out the Juice, it would intoxicate like Wine.
The Wine of the Palm-tree is white: When it is drank new, it has the Taste of the Cocoa, and is sweet as Honey: When it is kept much longer, it is strong, and intoxicates like Wine. After long keeping, it becomes Vinegar. See Renaudot’s Notes upon the Voyage to China, p. 12.
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