The Dark Knight Duty Quotes

Is Harvey suggesting that the good guys should know when to give up? Or just implying that one's duty is ultimately going to leave a few psychological scars when you start giving things up for it?

Remember when we talked about how Nolan likes to push his heroes to the limit? This is one instance: Batman has to reveal himself to the public or else all of Harvey Dent's good work will come undone. Harvey, surprisingly, is not cool with this plan. Both of them have a sense of what needs to be done, and both of them are absolutely dedicated to doing it. Hence, they come into conflict. Hence, good drama. Hence, one of them ends up with the worst skin peel ever and… well, you get the idea.

Alfred, in true Alfred form, is reminding Bruce of his duty here. Good people are going to suffer; it's what happens when you push bad men into the corner. The question is, will Bruce just give up because of that, or ensure that all that suffering leads to something better?