Precious stones and diamonds were thought to be the source of sin and sorrow in the East. A Persian legend of the origin of these stones explains this notion. In the legend, God created the world with no useless things such as silver, gold, diamonds or precious stones. However, Satan, always eager to bring evil to mankind, watched carefully to see what appealed to the appetites and passions of man. He noted that Eve loved the beautiful colored flowers in the Garden of Eden, so he therefore imitated the flower's colors out of the earth, producing precious stones and diamonds. After much time, these stones appealed so much to the greed and covetousness of people, that they have been the cause of much evil and crime.