How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #1
In seeking to reduce both state and people
To a fixed order, their judicious king
Begins at home, quits first his royal palace
Of flatt'ring sycophants, of dissolute
And infamous persons […]
Consid'ring duly that a prince's court
Is like a common fountain, whence should flow
Pure silver drops in general, but if't chance
Some cursed example poison't near the head,
Death and diseases through the whole land spread. (1.1.5-15)
Antonio's describing the French court, which he just visited, to his buddy Delio. This is the first of many "models" of good and bad government you see throughout the play, but this one is particularly significant because it gives the audience a blueprint of what government can and should be, and one which is sharply contrasted against the corrupt Italian courts. Additionally, it introduces the all-important prince-to-courtier dynamic, and imputes the health or disease of the social system to the integrity of the prince, the fountainhead of the system.
Quote #2
Methinks you that are courtiers should
be my touchwood, take fire when I give fire, that is, laugh
when I laugh, were the subject never so witty. (1.1.120-22)
This is Ferdinand, who would probably call the French king a sucker if he met him. In contrast to King Frenchie, Ferdinand is (a) all about the "flatt'ring sycophants" and (b) a much bigger fan of the idea of the courtiers just copying him—none of this mutual symbiotic nonsense the French are into. As opposed to having the courtiers and ruler sustain each other, Ferdinand just wants to duplicate himself among his sphere of influence.
Quote #3
He and his brother are like plum trees that grow crooked
over standing pools: they are rich, and o'erladen with fruit,
but none but crows pies and caterpillars feed on them. (1.1.48-50)
Another form of government, this time illustrated by Bosola, "the only court gall," who has few illusions about the Cardinal and Ferdinand. He's describing natural objects acting in a very unnatural way. Instead of nourishing the ground and water underneath them with their bounty, the "trees" of the brothers hoard their wealth and thereby bring a total halt to the natural process of generation.
A good question, though, is whether you think that Webster indicates elsewhere that fair, just rule is the natural way of the world, or if the real world favors the corruption of the Cardinal and Ferdinand. You gotta wonder, though: if Bosola thinks these guys are so bad, why does he work for them?