The long tradition of individual freedoms and rights that form the basis of Western civilisation stretches back over more than 2000 years. We often assume that these rights are universal and permanent features of our lives, without understanding how hard-won they were - coming into existence not in a process of gradual evolution but through a series of individual actions and events. These landmark moments were written down in laws and speeches, frequently by people acting at the risk of their own lives, and collectively form the finest achievement of Western Civilisation. As we live through times when peace and universal justice can seem further away than ever, it is heartening to see that enlightened individuals arise in every generation.Never before has there been a collection of the major documents that compose the rights and freedoms we so often take for granted, but should value highest, carefully selected and introduced. Often written in simple language, they are at once inspiring, informative and fascinating.Among the many on his Condemnation to Death, 399 BCPlato 'The Republic', 375 BCCicero 'On the State', 53 BCJesus' 'The Sermon on the Mount', c. AD 30 Marcus Aurelius' 'Meditations', c. AD 177 The Magna Carta, 1215Thomas More's 'Utopia', 1516Martin Luther's Speech before the Diet of Worms, 1521Foxe's Martyrdom of Ridley and Latimer, 1555The Poor Law Act of 1598The Mayflower Compact of 1620Galileo's Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems, 1632The Habeas Corpus Act, 1679Jean Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract, 1762The Declaration of Independence, 1776Thomas Paine's 'Rights of Man', 1791-2Mary Wollstonecraft's 'Vindication of the Rights of Woman', 1792Reform Act, 1832John Stuart Mill, 'On Liberty', 1859Emile Zola, 'J'Accuse', 1898Representation of the People Act, 1918Winston Churchill, 'Their Finest Hour' Speech, 1940The Charter of the United Nations, 1945President John F