The truth seems to be that “la belle Juliette,” as she was already called, gave proofs of distinguished powers, although one is fain to admit that, at this distance of time, it is not easy to define her capacity with any exactitude.
— from Juliette Drouet's Love-Letters to Victor Hugo Edited with a Biography of Juliette Drouet by Louis Guimbaud

By a curious fiction, for the origin of which it is not easy to definitely account, unless it is a survival of the celibacy required in certain orders, a knight is not supposed to share the insignia of any order of knighthood with his wife.
— from A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

Yet, suffer me to ask-might not this answer have been softened?-was it not enough to disclaim me for ever, without treating me with contempt, and wounding me with derision?
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney

The other and better course is to send colonies to one or two places, which may be as keys to that state, for it is necessary either to do this or else to keep there a great number of cavalry and infantry.
— from The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

DESDEMONA Why then to-morrow night; or Tuesday morn; On Tuesday noon, or night; on Wednesday morn:— I pr'ythee, name the time; but let it not Exceed three days: in faith, he's penitent;
— from Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare

How far brutes partake in this faculty, is not easy to determine.
— from An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1 MDCXC, Based on the 2nd Edition, Books 1 and 2 by John Locke

In the description of Antioch, 90 it is not easy to define a middle term between her ancient magnificence, under the successors of Alexander and Augustus, and the modern aspect of Turkish desolation.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

It is not easy to describe the mind of crowds with exactness, because its organization varies not only according to race and composition but also according to the nature and intensity of the exciting causes to which crowds are subjected.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. (Ernest Watson) Burgess

I prithee, name the time, but let it not Exceed three days.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

When one can condense several different principles into one rule, is it not expedient to do so?
— from The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown

It is not easy to describe the varied associations that poured their tide of hallowed memories into his mind.
— from Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXX, No. 2, February 1847 by Various

She haunts the wood harmless and thoughtful, though of what one so untaught can think it is not easy to divine.
— from Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

Corporations organized in one State are in general allowed to do business in other States; so that a corporation which is intended to carry on business in New York, may be incorporated in another State, where it is not expected to do business.
— from Commercial Law by Richard William Hill

It is not easy to discover how far the accusations against the Admiral, which these men now began to dwell upon, were generally believed.
— from Christopher Columbus and How He Received and Imparted the Spirit of Discovery by Justin Winsor

But he is gone, and is now enjoying the delights of the paradise I have revealed to you.
— from Confessions of a Thug by Meadows Taylor

The needle in moving to the left out of the true central position between its neighbours enlarges the draw at one point, but makes a corresponding contraction of the stitch at B where the needle has to be content with a shorter piece of the yarn.
— from Hosiery Manufacture by Davis, William, M.A.

There was the sea-captain, come to implore an expedition to be fitted out, if not exactly to discover new worlds, at least to colonize and settle uncivilized ones.
— from Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXVI, No. 6, June 1850 by Various

It is not easy to describe the impression this night-view of the old Catholic abbey made on us; one might as well try to catch a moonbeam, and examine it and find out what it is made of.
— from The Catholic World, Vol. 19, April 1874‐September 1874 by Various

The anomalies most difficult to diagnose seem to be those relating to the gums, the palate and the uvula, in regard to which it is not easy to determine whether they are due to degeneration or to disease.
— from Pedagogical Anthropology by Maria Montessori