while he followed paracelsus in his medical views rather than the ancient authorities, he was also a believer that real wisdom was to be found in the writings of natural magicians. his view of these mystical authorities was inclined towards the great mathematicians, and he believed, like pythagoras and his followers, that numbers contained access to great hidden secrets. certainty in religion could be discovered only through serious study of numbers and ratios. this view later brought fludd into conflict with johannes kepler.