How we cite our quotes: Act.Scene
Quote #1
Vit. …Take it for words—O woman's poor revenge
Which dwells but in the tongue, I will not weep…(3.2)
Vittoria says that in this society, a woman can only take revenge with words and not with actions. It's a poignant denunciation of a society dominated by men—but it's not clear Vittoria's entirely sincere, since she helped provoke the Duke to murder her husband (an action which went far beyond words).
Quote #2
Lodo. I do thank thee,
And I do wish ingeniously for thy sake,
The dog-days all year long. (3.3)
The dog days (when the star of Sirius rises with the sun in July and August) were considered a time of year when evil things would happen. Since Flamineo was involved in killing Isabella, Lodovico is wishing Flamineo really bad fortune.
Quote #3
Mont. …sleep with the lion,
And let this brood of secure foolish mice
Play with your nostrils, till the time be ripe
For th' bloody audit, and the fatal gripe:
Aim like a cunning fowler, close one eye,
That you the better may your game espy. (4.1)
This is a really unusual version of the old "Revenge is a dish best served cold" adage. It involves the old idea that mice (small, weaker people) would threaten to go up the noses of bigger creatures like lions, or like elephants with their trunks; an analogy to powerful people.