It seems at this word that all Jocasta’s strength breaks down. The malign power that is driving Œdipus onward is too great for her, and she cannot strive against it any longer. She can only wail in answer: “_O child of woe, I pray God, I pray God, thou never know!_“[22] And then, as Œdipus turns roughly from her, all his tenderness shrivelled to scorn and wrath, the last link snaps. In another moment he will know the truth; and knowing it, she will be loathsome and abhorrent in his eyes. The thought brings intolerable pain. She craves relief, escape, and, swiftly—before Œdipus can learn what he is seeking, before his accusing eyes can meet her own—annihilation. With an imploring gesture, she takes one step toward him. “_Unhappy one, good-bye! Good-bye before I go: this once, and never, never more!_“[22] But Œdipus does not heed her; and with wild eyes, she flies into the palace, to die by her own hand. And when the great king, brought at last to see the truth which casts him lower than the meanest slave, thinks to avenge his wrongs on her, he finds that she has taken vengeance on herself. Before her pitiful dead body his wrath is turned to loathing of himself; and the hand that was raised against her, smites the light for ever from his own eyes. ----- Footnote 21: From Professor J. W. Mackail’s translation of the _Odyssey_ (John Murray). Footnote 22: From Professor Gilbert Murray’s translation of the _Œdipus, King of Thebes_ (George Allen & Co. Ltd.). _Sophocles: Antigone_ There was an important figure in _Œdipus the King_ whom we only glanced at in passing when we were considering the story of Jocasta. He was the queen’s own brother, Creon; a man who knew better than to covet kingly honours, and who had a soul for friendship. It was he who said, answering the rash accusation which Œdipus made against him: “_This I tell thee. He who plucks a friend Out from his heart hath lost a treasured thing Dear as his own dear life._“[23] Thus, when the great king’s downfall came, Creon knew how to be a friend. He was gentle to Œdipus; and forgetting his own wrongs, he took upon himself the care of the king’s young daughters, Antigone and Ismene. But Creon said once, at another crowded moment of his career: “_Hard it is to learn The mind of any mortal or the heart, Till he be tried in chief authority. Power shows the man._“[24]