The first man to use abusive language instead of his fists was the founder of civilization.

The line contrasts physical violence with verbal aggression, suggesting that the substitution of words for blows marks a decisive step toward social order. “Abusive language” is still hostile, but it channels conflict into symbolic expression rather than bodily harm, implying that civilization depends on redirecting instinctual aggression into less destructive forms. In a broadly Freudian frame, the quote points to the way culture is built on sublimation and restraint: raw impulses are not eliminated but transformed into speech, rules, and other mediated behaviors. The remark is also ironic—civilization’s “founder” is not a moral hero but someone who discovers a safer outlet for aggression, highlighting the ambivalence Freud often saw at the heart of cultural progress.