In this great temple of nature, religious service has been frequently held, and it requires but a slight effort on the part of a speaker, to make himself distinctly heard by the largest congregation.
— from Rambles in the Mammoth Cave, during the Year 1844 By a Visiter by Alexander Clark Bullitt

Now at last it was known that the force of gravitation operates at the distance of the moon, and holds that body in its elliptical orbit, and it required but a slight effort of the imagination to assume that the force which operates through such a reach of space extends its influence yet more widely.
— from A History of Science — Volume 2 by Edward Huntington Williams

Ashwoode had many and influential friends, and it required but a small exercise of their good offices to procure a reprieve.
— from The Cock and Anchor by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

I left van Manderpootz staring as I rushed back, and sure enough, there was the girl with her face pressed against the barrel, and her hands gripping the table edge.
— from The Ideal by Stanley G. (Stanley Grauman) Weinbaum