John Doe: It's more comfortable for you to label me as insane. David Mills: It's VERY comfortable.
John Doe: We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trival. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. And what I've done is going to be puzzled over, and studied, and followed... forever. Detective William Somerset: Anyone who spends a significant amount of time with me finds me disagreeable. David Mills: Yeah, a landlord's dream: a paralyzed tenant with no tongue. William Somerset: Who pays the rent on time. William Somerset: I just don't think I can continue to live in a place that embraces and nurtures apathy as if it was virtue. David Mills: You're no different. You're no better. William Somerset: I didn't say I was different or better. I'm not. Hell, I sympathize; I sympathize completely. Apathy is the solution. I mean, it's easier to lose yourself in drugs than it is to cope with life. It's easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it. It's easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell, love costs: it takes effort and work. David Mills: Fuckin' Dante... poetry-writing faggot! Piece of shit, motherfucker! Dr. Beardsley: He's experienced about as much pain and suffering as anyone I've encountered, give or take, and he still has Hell to look forward to. Detective Mills: Wait a minute... I thought all you did was kill innocent people. John Doe: Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? John Doe: Realize detective, the only reason that I'm here right now is that I wanted to be. David Mills: No, no, we would have got you eventually. John Doe: Oh really? So, what were you doing? Biding your time? Toying with me? Allowing five innocent people to die until you felt like springing your trap? Tell me, what was the indisputable evidence you were going to use on me right before I walked up to you and put my hands in the air? John Doe: What sick ridiculous puppets we are / and what gross little stage we dance on / What fun we have dancing and fucking / Not a care in the world / Not knowing that we are nothing / We are not what was intended. John Doe: Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention. William Somerset: This guy's methodical, exacting, and worst of all, patient. David Mills: He's a nut-bag! Just because the fucker's got a library card doesn't make him Yoda! Detective William Somerset: It's impressive to see a man feeding off his emotions. Detective David Mills: C'mon, he's insane. Look. Right now he's probably dancing around in his grandma's panties, yeah, rubbing himself in peanut butter. Detective David Mills: I don't think you're quitting because you believe these things you say. I don't. I think you want to believe them, because you're quitting. And you want me to agree with you, and you want me to say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're right. It's all fucked up. It's a fucking mess. We should all go live in a fucking log cabin." But I won't. I don't agree with you. I do not. I can't. Det. Somerset: This isn't going to have a happy ending. Detective David Mills: You're no messiah. You're a movie of the week. You're a fucking t-shirt, at best. Detective David Mills: I've been trying to figure something in my head, and maybe you can help me out, yeah? When a person is insane, as you clearly are, do you know that you're insane? Maybe you're just sitting around, reading "Guns and Ammo", masturbating in your own feces, do you just stop and go, "Wow! It is amazing how fucking crazy I really am!"? Yeah. Do you guys do that?
[William Somerset looks at an object in the road.] David Mills: What do you got? William Somerset: Dead dog. John Doe: I didn't do that. Detective William Somerset: Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.