JOURNAL OF THE TRANSACTIONS 
VICTORIA INSTITUTE, 
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 
een ite 
ORDINARY MEETING. 
THE PRESIDENT, S1R GEORGE G. STOKES, Bart., M.P., V.P.R.S., 
IN THE CHAIR. 
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed, and the 
following Paper was then read (March 19th) by the Author :— 
REMARKS ON THE MONISM, PANTHEISM, AND 
DUALISM OF BRAHMANICAL AND ZORO- 
ASTRIAN PHILOSOPHERS. By Sir M. Monmr 
WILLIAMS, K.C.I.E., D.C.L., Boden Professor of Sanskrit, 
Oxford. 
N the present paper I propose to draw the attention of 
this Society to the principal monistic, pantheistic, and 
dualistic theories of Indian philosophers—whether Brahmans 
or Indo-Zoroastrians—with the object of pointing out that 
these theories, although apparently contraictory, are in 
reality closely connected with each other, as well as with the 
polytheistic doctrines and practices of modern Hinduism. 
Perhaps other members of this Society may be induced by 
my remarks to draw attention tc some of the parallel lines of 
thought in European systems of philosophy. 
I ought at the outset to explain that my observations will 
be founded quite as much on the conversations which I had 
with living learned men during my travels in India, as on the 
ancient philosophical writings of Hindis and Zoroastrians. 
Clearly the first difficulty is to settle exactly what is meant 
by the terms Monism, Pantheism, and Dualism. 
Without pretending to any special knowledge of the philo- 
B 
