He hath a spite against me, that I know, Just as He favours Prosper, who knows why? (ll. 202-203.) Power which is irresponsible is exercised in a manner wholly capricious. There is no more satisfactory explanation of the dealings of Setebos with his creatures than that which Caliban can offer for his own treatment of the crabs That march now from the mountain to the sea, when he may Let twenty pass, and stone the twenty-first, Loving not, hating not, just choosing so. (ll. 101-103.) Of one thing the savage deems himself assured, again judging from the pettiness which he finds existent in his own nature. Of one thing he is assured--that the wrath of the god is most readily to be kindled through envy, envy of the very objects of his own creation. A display of happiness is the surest method of incurring his vengeance; therefore Even so, 'would have Him misconceive, suppose This Caliban strives hard and ails no less, And always, above all else, envies Him: (ll. 263-265.) a belief inherent in all pre-Christian creeds in intimate connection with the doctrine of sacrifice, the place of which in the theology of Caliban must receive separate consideration. So does Herakles warn Admetus against indulgence in a supreme happiness, Only the rapture must not grow immense: Take care, nor wake the envy of the Gods.[11] Thus will Caliban in spite kill two flies, basking "on the pompion-bell above," whilst he gives his aid to Two black painful beetles [who] roll their ball On head and tail as if to save their lives. (ll. 260-261.) Such are, according to Browning, some of the main features of the "Natural Theology in the Island," suggesting conditions of life at once depressing and degrading: no satisfaction for the present but in deception of the over-ruling power, the sole hope for the future, that this dread being may tire of his early creation and hence relax his malicious watch in favour of a new and distant world, made "to please him more." It is not difficult to conceive of such a creed as the outcome of deductions from the teaching of Sycorax, who held that "the Quiet" was the virtual creator, the work of Setebos being limited to disturbing and "vexing" these creations of the Quiet. In this aspect Setebos would appear as representative of the powers of evil. And of great interest in any study of Browning are the suggestions resulting from Caliban's treatment of the subject. (1) He holds that the author of evil must be supreme. That the Quiet, had he been the creator, _could_ unquestionably, and, therefore, _would_ most certainly have rendered his creatures of strength sufficient to be impervious to the attacks of Setebos. Therefore he attributes the weaknesses of humanity to design on the part of a creator who would wantonly torment.