His speeches were aimed at the plebeian minds and emotions; they disgusted the more refined.
[原译]他的演说系针对一般人的心智和感情的；他们讨厌更精致的演说。（《GRE 词汇进阶》）
disgust 可以理解为“(某人)讨厌某事”吗?
分号后的分句完全译错了。主要是因为译者没有搞清 disgust 的意义和用法。disgust 只能作“某事使某人讨厌或厌恶”（Something that disgusts you causes you to have a strong feeling of dislike or disapproval.）解，而不能作“某人讨厌某事”解。例如：
-
His behaviour disgusted everybody. (ALD) 他的行为令大家厌恶。
-
The food disgusted me. 这食物令我作呕。
要想表达“某人讨厌某事或某人”的意思,应当采用 be disgusted with (by, at)这样的结构(If you are disgusted, you have a strong feeling of dislike or disapproval.)：
-
She was disgusted with herself. (EED) 她讨厌自己。
-
I'm completely disgusted at[with] you. (LDCE) 我非常讨厌你。
-
We're all disgusted at the way his wife has treated him. (LDAE) 我们大家都厌恶他妻子对待他的态度。
-
We were disgusted at[by/with] what we saw. (OSD) 我们对所看到的东西感到厌恶。
译者对 disgust 用法的误解导致了他对 they 和 the more refined 的误解。they 在句中并不是指粗俗人，而是指 His speeches。the more refined 也不是指更精致的演说，而是指上层人（与下层人对照使用）。
[试译]他的演说是针对下层人的思想和感情的，因而使上层人感到厌恶。