Parents arrive at the execution ground and behold their sons or daughters put to death. They can do nothing but weep bitterly. Thousands of onlookers laugh and curse, declaring that the adulteress who poisoned her husband and her paramour deserve such an end. Though remorse may stir within them, it is already beyond remedy.
Yet those given to lechery remain unperturbed and devoid of shame.
“Unperturbed” means calm composure; “devoid of shame” means being utterly shameless. Those addicted to lechery feel unperturbed and show no sense of guilt whatsoever.
Though belonging to men of moral teachings, they willingly subvert the five constants and corrupt public customs.
Educated persons who understand principles stand within the realm of Confucian moral ethics. The five constants refer to humaneness, righteousness, ritual, wisdom and trustworthiness. Public customs stand for social morals. The text means that even learned, principled men may knowingly transgress norms, commit adultery with other men’s women, and willingly perpetrate acts that corrupt public morals.
Some elder brothers seize their younger brothers’ wives; younger brothers commit adultery with their elder brothers’ spouses.
A younger brother’s wife is his sister‑in‑law; an elder brother’s wife is also a sister‑in‑law. To seize by force is to usurp; illicit intercourse is adultery. When an elder brother forcibly takes his younger brother’s wife, or a younger brother lies with his elder brother’s spouse, such brothers are true offenders against moral teachings.
Some uncles give way to covetous desire for their nephews’ wives; some nephews enter illicit unions with their aunts‑by‑marriage.
Incestuous or improper carnal unions are all licentious liaisons. An uncle may behold his nephew’s fair‑faced wife and conceive wicked lust to defile her. A nephew may lust after his uncle’s wife and contrive to consummate an illicit affair. Such men are beasts clad in human raiment.
They indulge in fleeting pleasure, caring only for immediate gratification.