=The Post-Aristotelian Schools of Philosophy.=--But the harmonizing attempt of Aristotle was fruitless. Like Socrates and Plato, he failed to reconcile with the old and settled order the ever-expanding movement toward individualism. Thus all efforts to control the individualistic and disintegrating tendencies of the times were in vain, and the conquest of the Greek states by Philip of Macedon (358-338 B. C.) was only symptomatic of the complete collapse of corporate life and the inability to reconstruct it successfully. All possibility of social unity disappeared, and philosophy no longer considered the individual from the standpoint of membership in society. It was occupied no further with the harmonization of the individual and the state, but concerned itself with the welfare of the individual and the art of living. Individualism was completely triumphant, and education was considered simply as a means to personal development or happiness, without regard to one’s fellows. The new theories of life and education were formulated by such schools of philosophy as the Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics, which kept themselves far removed from society. None of these ‘schools’ could be so termed in the sense of offering an education, but rather in the modern usage of a group of adherents to certain teachings. They spent their energy, for the most part, in interpreting, elaborating, and lauding the original teachings of the founders, and with them a stereotyped dogmatism took the place of philosophy. [Sidenote: Formal study and general knowledge.] =The Schools of Rhetoric.=--But these schools were not the only outcome of the teaching of the sophists. Just as they came about gradually from the speculative tendencies of the sophists as developed through certain famous philosophers, there likewise grew up more directly from the sophistic efforts to train young men in rhetoric and public speaking a multitude of rhetorical schools. In these a formal study was made of oratory and the knowledge of the day. Their professed object was to make successful men of the world, and, although they at first included such reputable and influential schools as that of Isocrates (436-338 B. C.), they laid little claim to teaching anything solid or profound, much less to forming any philosophic habits. They succeeded in spreading a popular education among a people that had lost all hope of a political life, but they soon degenerated into the use of narrow and formal methods. The later rhetoricians attempted to hasten oratorical training and preparation for life, by teaching their pupils ready-made speeches and dialogues, together with a general knowledge of current questions. Nevertheless, these schools flourished for several centuries and closely rivalled those of the philosophers. [Sidenote: Origin of University of Athens.] [Sidenote: Other universities.] [Sidenote: Philosophy and science at Alexandria.]