xxvi INTRODUCTION 



him, with a yawn, to " Let us get along to the 

 Deluge " ! 



And what a deluge it is : what a torrent of 

 tempestuous language is poured down upon us from the 

 cumulus clouds of his vocabulary and learning ! 



It is a pity that in the present edition the text is 

 not set up in italics and capitals, to do the matter full 

 typographical justice : the majesty of Browne seems 

 to require the magnificence of large quarto page and 

 accessories to present him in his habit as he wrote. 1 



Upon reaching the gate of the " Garden of Cyrus " 

 (published in 1658) the natural first question a reader 

 will ask is, What is a Quincunx ? 



Here is Browne's own grandiose definition : " That 



is the Rows and Orders so handsomely disposed, or 



Five Trees so set together that a regular Angularity 



and thorough Prospect was left on every side. Owing 



this name not only unto the Quintuple number of Trees, 



but the Figure declaring that Number which being 



doubled at the Angle makes up the Letter X, that is 



1 Those who would see Browne " in his habit as he 

 lived "should visit the Hall of University College, where 

 stands (or rather sits) the original model for the fine statue 

 of Browne by Mr. A. H. Pegram, A.R.A. , which, cast in 

 bronze, presides, urn in hand, over his own City of Norwich, 

 a place still, as in Evelyn's day, " much addicted to the 

 flowery part." 



