Book excerpt: In this original and fascinating book, Stuart Clark investigates the cultural history of the senses in early modern Europe. At a time in which the nature and reliability of human vision was a focus for debate in medicine, art theory, science, and philosophy, there was an explosion of interest in the truth (or otherwise) of miracles, dreams, magic, and witchcraft. Was seeing really believing? Vanities of the Eye wonderfully illustrates how this was woven into contemporary works such as Macbeth - deeply concerned with the dangers of visual illusion - and exposes early modern theories on the relationship between the real and the virtual.