Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term
eyebabies
"The little chaps in your eyes are awaiting their guests". The commentary explains this line as, "The little chaps are 'eyebabies' reflected in the eye. Working freely and mindlessly, they show all things as they truly are."
Does anybody know what is meant here with "eyebabies"?
Thanks for considering...
| 4 +1 | pupils |
Oliver Simões
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| 3 +2 | the images seen in an eye when objects come in front of it |
Althea Draper
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| 2 | pupils |
Patricia Franco
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| eyebaby |
David Hollywood
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Sep 23, 2021 09:41: Althea Draper changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"
PRO (3): Oliver Simões, Tony M, Althea Draper
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Responses
United States
BA in Transl., MA in ESL, 15 yrs of exp.
Native in: Portuguese 
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, Spanish to Portuguese, and 2 more.
pupils
"I remember, a few years ago, when a teacher mentioned that the word "niña" in Spanish can mean both "girl" and "the pupil of the eye." Ever since, I've been fascinated by a possible connection between the two. The OED has the following to say on this:
Middle French pupille opening in the iris through which light pases into the eye (1314 in Old French; French pupille) and its etymon classical Latin pūpilla in same sense, transferred use of pūpilla, female child, also doll... so called on account of the small reflected image seen when looking into someone's pupil."
The key here is the "small reflected image" that symbolizes a young person. This relationship goes back to Ancient Greek. (I'm not sure which kind.)
The OED mentions many romance languages that share this connection; I wonder if any other languages (preferably non-Indo-European or romance) show this? I've investigated Arabic, with no success; the eye part is إنسان العين and pupil (student) is طالب.
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/pupil-diverse-etymol...
The original states that "they [the eyebabies] show things as they truly are."
Check out this quote from Wikipedia:
"The constriction of the pupil and near vision are closely tied. In bright light, the pupils constrict to prevent aberrations of light rays and thus attain their expected acuity; in the dark, this is not necessary, so it is chiefly concerned with admitting sufficient light into the eye." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupil
Brazil
Expert EnglishPortuguese BR Translator
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, English, and 1 more.
pupils
in portuguese "menina do olhos" - The girl of the eyes.
United Kingdom
Freelance Medical Translator, MA (Hons)
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
the images seen in an eye when objects come in front of it
"A thousand million Sumerus in a dewdrop on a hair;
All three thousand worlds in a foam-fleck on the sea;
A pair of young lads in the eyes of a midge
Play games with the world. They never stop"
He says of the boys - "The “young lads” are perhaps eyebabies in the midge’s eye."
Further down, in the section on impermanence (page 92), there is the piece in question -
"The little chaps in your eyes are awaiting their guests;
The Valley Spirit isn't dead, she's expecting your call."
In his explanation, he says, "The little chap, the “eyebaby,” or image seen in an eye when an object comes in front of it, is essentially mindless yet reflects different objects faithfully when they appear before it."
https://otani.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_commo...
| agree |
David Hollywood
4 hrs
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Thanks David
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| agree |
Sajad Neisi
7 hrs
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Thanks sajad
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| neutral |
Yvonne Gallagher
: I think Oliver already suggested this? small reflected image seen when looking into someone's pupil."
15 hrs
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Reference comments
worked for int. orgs (IMF, OAS, IDB)
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, German to English
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