The animal character imprinted upon his brow marks his destiny from the moment of his conception".[86] Much to Gobineau's intense annoyance, Nott and Hotze abridged the first volume of the Essai from 1,600 pages in the French original down to 400 in English.[87] At least part of the reason for this was because of Gobineau's hostile picture of Americans. About American white people, Gobineau declared: