Letter 240: Constantius thanks Castus for writing first and asks him to keep sending letters to the wilderness.

How clearly a soul with warm love shines; it cannot be hidden. This has happened with your Honor. Even though you did not know we had written to your Reverence, and we had, you still did your own part: you wrote to us, showed your genuine affection in this too, and filled us with great joy and consolation. So that we may keep enjoying this pleasure and drawing cheer from it, I ask you to keep doing this whenever you can. We know the matter is difficult, because people do not easily come here. This is the most desolate place in the inhabited world. Still, for those who love, even difficult things become easy. If you are willing to make inquiries and look carefully, you will find people coming from there on their own business; nothing at all will be lacking to the one who searches along the road. Knowing this, my honored master, send us frequent letters. The task has no real difficulty and no labor, while the joy that comes from it lifts our spirits and becomes a source of much comfort.

ΣΜʹ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρὸς Κάστον πρεσβύτερον. Πῶς διαλάμπει σαφῶς, καὶ λαθεῖν οὐ δύναται ἡ ψυχὴ θερμὴν ἀγάπην ἔχουσα! ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῆς σῆς γέγονε τιμιότητος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰδὼς ὅτι ἐπεστάλκαμέν σου τῇ εὐλαβείᾳ καίτοι γε ἐπεστάλκαμεν, ὅμως αὐτὸς τὰ παρὰ σαυτοῦ πεποίηκας, γράψας τε ἡμῖν, καὶ τὴν διάθεσίν σου τὴν γνησίαν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἐπιδειξάμενος, καὶ πολλῆς ἡμᾶς ἐμπλήσας τῆς εὐφροσύνης καὶ τῆς παρακλήσεως. Ἵν' οὖν συνεχῶς ταύτης ἀπολαύωμεν τῆς ἡδονῆς καὶ εὐφραινώμεθα, συνεχῶς τοῦτο ποιεῖν παρακέκλησο, ἡνίκα ἂν ἐξῇ. Οἴδαμεν γὰρ ὅτι τὸ πρᾶγμα δύσκολον, τῷ μὴ ῥᾳδίως τινὰς ἐνταῦθα παραγίνεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ τὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐρημότατον χωρίον τοῦτό ἐστιν· ἀλλ' ὅμως τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι καὶ τὰ δύσκολα εὔκολα γίνεται. Εἰ γὰρ βουληθείης περιεργάζεσθαι καὶ πολυπραγμονεῖν, τοὺς ἐκεῖθεν κατὰ χρείας ἰδίας ἀφικνουμένους εὑρήσεις, καὶ ὅλως οὐδὲν ἐπιλείψει τῷ ζητεῖν καθ' ὁδοῦ. Ταῦτ' οὖν εἰδὼς, δέσποτά μου τιμιώτατε, συνεχεῖς ἡμῖν πέμπε ἐπιστολάς. Τό τε γὰρ πρᾶγμα δυσκολίαν οὐδεμίαν ἔχει, οὔτε πόνον, ἡ δὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ εὐφροσύνη πτεροῦσθαι ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ, καὶ πολλῆς παραμυθίας ὑπόθεσις γίνεται.