Just to clarify...
Just to clarify matters, whilst I'm more than willing to accept that alcohol per se, viewed in isolation, is not 'cunning, baffling and powerful'.
It's effect both physically and mentally on the human body is more than well documented. Not least mentally, where it interferes with the ability to think cognitively (truth and reason) impairing that ability in even 'normal' social drinkers...
Worse still, for those generally referred to as alcoholics, who have become addicted to alcohol and the small percentage of those, like me, born with alcoholism. It, as a drug, remains in the body long enough, to send messages to the brain, as to not only impair their ability to think cognitively but to develop cravings.Enough to develop the whole insidious, self destructive process that we, as recovering alcoholics know so well.
So whilst I'm more than happy to accept that those symptoms, cravings, etc. are centered in the mind, it is the effect of not only thinking, for an alcoholic, that they can drink with impunity, as they see others do but it's effect on them, cravings etc., when they do...which is perhaps why the consumption alcohol, and it's effect on the alcoholics mind and thinking together with its subsequent effects are viewed as 'cunning, baffling and powerful'.
Together with the fact that the only cure for this phenomena is, again as we all know, absolute abstinence, allowing the mind to function normally without the interference of the effects of a drug (alcohol) which permeates their ability to function rationally, to the extent it bankrupts them, physically, mentally and spiritually....you need a drug (alcohol)that's 'cunning, powerful and baffling' to do that to people. Otherwise common sense and he natural human instinct to survive otherwise would easily override, those effects...