What kind of person is Zebediah T. Crawcrustle?

Zebediah T. Crawcrustle is a member of the Epicurean club. He is different from the other members in that he seems a little more cautious and wise about the world. He is very old, but lives lifetimes over again and never dies. This is because he eats the Phoenix (the Sunbird) which restores his youth. He manages to prevent it from killing him as it does the other members by eating very hot foods to prepare himself. He does not tell the other Epicurean Club members about the Phoenix, deliberately giving it another name to fool them. He also does not tell them that they need to prepare or they will die when they eat it. It seems that Zebediah takes it upon himself to clear out the Club members every now and then. He could eat the Phoenix alone to keep himself alive, but he chooses to involve the others, and so is responsible for their deaths.