[PAULUS libro sexto ad edictum. ] §6.1.6.prSi in rem aliquis agat, debet designare rem, et utrum totam an partem et quotam petat: appellatio enim rei non genus, sed speciem significat.
[PAULUS, in the sixth book on the Edict.] If anyone brings an action in rem, he must specify the object, and whether he claims the whole or a part, and what share; for the designation of a thing signifies not the genus, but the species.
Octauenus ita definit, quod infectae quidem materiae pondus, signatae uero numerum, factae autem speciem dici oportet: sed et mensura dicenda erit, cum res mensura continebitur.
Octavenus defines it thus, that for unworked material the weight, for stamped material the number, and for manufactured material the species (form) ought to be stated; but the measure also must be stated when the thing is measured by volume.
et si uestimenta nostra esse uel dari oportere nobis petamus, utrum numerum eorum dicere debebimus an et colorem? et magis est ut utrumque: nam illud inhumanum est cogi nos dicere, trita sint an noua.
And if we claim that garments are ours or ought to be given to us, shall we be obliged to state their number, or also their color? And the better opinion is that both should be stated; for it would be unreasonable to compel us to say whether they are worn or new.
quamuis et in uasis occurrat difficultas, utrum lancem dumtaxat dici oporteat an etiam, quadrata uel rutunda, uel pura an caelata sint, quae ipsa in petitionibus quoque adicere difficile est nec ita coartanda res est: licet in petendo homine nomen eius dici debeat et utrum puer an adulescens sit, utique si plures sint: sed si nomen eius ignorem, demonstratione eius utendum erit: ueluti 'qui ex illa hereditate est', 'qui ex illa natus est'. item fundum petiturus nomen eius et quo loci sit dicere debebit.
Although a difficulty also arises in the case of vessels, whether one ought to say merely "a platter," or also whether they are square or round, or plain or chased, which details themselves are difficult to add in claims, nor should the matter be so strictly limited; although in claiming a slave, his name ought to be stated, and whether he is a boy or a youth, especially if there are several; but if I do not know his name, a description of him must be used, such as "the one who belongs to that inheritance," or "the one born of that woman." Likewise, one who is about to claim a tract of land must state its name and where it is situated.