Several of them such as Houston Stewart Chamberlain did borrow Gobineau's idea about an Aryan master race.[185] The American historian Paul Fortier observed it was striking the contrast between the fundamental optimism and triumphant tone expressed by Chamberlain in his 1899 book The Foundations of the 19th Century about the future of the Aryans vs. the relentlessly downbeat and gloomy message of Gobineau's Essai.[186] Writing in April 1939, Rowbotham declared: "So after nearly a hundred years, the fantastic pessimistic philosophy of the brilliant French diplomat is seized upon and twisted to the use of a mystic demagogue who finds in the idea of the pure Aryan an excuse for thrusting civilization dangerously near back to the Dark Ages."[187] The pessimism of Gobineau's message did not lend itself to political action as he did not believe that humanity could be saved from racial degeneration.[188] Biddiss wrote: