It must have been a fad that went through Cambridge but never caught on anywhere else. The commas which are missing are those used in setting off items in a series. The result is that I first try to construe the series as a set of nouns modifying each other (another thing English is good at). It's annoying and distracting as hell.
Examples:
The heavens themselves, the planets, and this centre
Observe degree priority and place
Insisture course proportion season form
Office and custom, in all line of order . . .*
He belongs to a world of violent crime and violent change, of sin blood and repentance, yet to a world loyal to a theological scheme.
*This is the way the author edits Shakespeare