 Following the collapse of the Republic, laws pertaining to marriage, parenting, and adultery were part of Augustus' program to restore the "mos maiorum" (traditional social norms), while consolidating his power as princeps and "paterfamilias" of the Roman state.Marriage and remarriage had become less frequent; and the citizen birth-rate had fallen, particularly among the wealthier, more leisured classes.Augustan law pertaining to marriage and family life encouraged marriage and having children, and punished adultery as a crime.