_Passage in St. Mark_ (Vol. iii., p. 8.).--Irenaeus is considered the best
(if not the only) commentator among the very early Fathers upon those words
in Mark xiii. 32. "[Greek: oude ho huios?]" and though I cannot refer
CALMET further than to the author's works, he can trust the general
accuracy of the following translation:--
"Our Lord himself," says he, "the Son of God, acknowledged that the
Father only knew the day and hour of judgment, declaring expressly,
that of that day and hour knoweth no one, neither the Son, but the
Father only. Now, if the Son himself was not ashamed to leave the
knowledge of that day to the Father, but plainly declared the truth;
neither ought we to be ashamed to leave to God such questions as are
too high for us. For if any one inquires why the Father, who
communicates in all things to the Son, is yet by our Lord declared to
know alone that day and hour, he cannot at present find any better, or
more decent, or indeed any other safe answer at all, than this, that
since our Lord is the only teacher of truth, we should learn of him,
that the Father is above all; for the Son saith, 'He is greater than
I.' The Father, therefore, is by Our Lord declared to be superior even
in knowledge also; to this end, that we, while we continue in this
world, may learn to acknowledge God only to have perfect knowledge, and
leave such questions to him; and (put a stop to our presumption), lest
curiously inquiring into the greatness of the Father, we run at last
into so great a danger, as to ask whether even above God there be not
another God."