In Manu there is an advance beyond this point. The world, all that moves and rests, we are told (Manu III., 201), has been made by the Devas; but the Devas and Danavas were born of the Pit_ri_s, and the Pit_ri_s of the _R_ishis. Originally the _R_ishis were the poets of the Vedas, seven in number; and we are not told how they came to be placed above the Devas and Pit_ri_s. It does not, however, appear utterly beyond the power to solve. The Vedas were the production of the _R_ishis, and the Pit_ri_s, being perpetuated thus to human memory, became by a figure of speech their offspring. The Devas sprung from the Pit_ri_s, because it was usual to apotheosize the dead. "Our ancestors desired," says Cicero, "that the men who had quitted this life should be counted in the number of gods." Again, the conception of patrons or Pit_ri_s to each family and tribe naturally led to the idea of a Providence over all; and so the Pit_ri_ begat the Deva. This religion preceded and has outlasted the other.--A. W.]
[Footnote 293: _S_atapatha Brâhma_n_a XI. 5, 6, 1; Taitt. Âr. II. 11, 10; Â_s_valâyana G_ri_hya-sûtras III. 1, 1; Pâraskara G_ri_hya-sûtras II. 9, 1; Âpastamba, Dharma-sûtras, translated by Bühler, pp. 47 seq.]
[Footnote 294: In the _S_ânkhâyana G_ri_hya (I. 5) four Pâka-ya_gñ_as are mentioned, called Huta, ahuta, prahuta, prâ_s_ita.]
[Footnote 295: Â_s_v. G_ri_hya-sûtras I. 3, 10.]
[Footnote 298: See Des Coulanges, "Ancient City," I. 3. "Especially were the meals of the family religions acts. The god [the sacred fire] presided there. He had cooked the bread and prepared the food; a prayer, therefore, was due at the beginning and end of the repast. Before eating, they placed upon the altar the first fruits of the food; before drinking, they poured out a libation of wine. This was the god's portion. No one doubted that he was present, that he ate and drank; for did they not see the flame increase as if it had been nourished by the provisions offered? Thus the meal was divided between the man and the god. It was a sacred ceremony, by which they held communion with each other.... The religion of the sacred fire dates from the distant and dim epoch when there were yet no Greeks, no Italians, no Hindus, when there were only Aryas. When the tribes separated they carried this worship with them, some to the banks of the Ganges, others to the shores of the Mediterranean.... Each group chose its own gods, but all preserved as an ancient legacy the first religion which they had known and practiced in the common cradle of their race."