who died childless[262]; but if she married a second time, and her son or daughter died without leaving children or grandchildren, she was expelled from all succession and distant relatives acquired the property.[263] [Sidenote: Justinian moderates these laws to a great degree.] Justinian changed these enactments to a pronounced degree. "We are not making laws that are too bitter against women who marry a second time," he remarks,[264] "and we do not want to lead them, in consequence of such action, to the harsh necessity, unworthy of our age, of abstaining from a chaste second marriage and descending to illegitimate connections." He ordained, therefore, that the law mentioned above be annulled and that mothers should have absolutely unrestricted rights of inheritance to a deceased child's property along with the latter's brothers and sisters; and second marriage was never to create any prejudice.[265] In the earlier part of his reign Justinian also forbade husband or wife to leave one another property under the stipulation that the surviving partner must not marry again[266]; but later, when his zeal for reform had become more pronounced and fanatical, he revoked this and gave the conditioned party the option either of enjoying the property by remaining unmarried or of forfeiting it by a second union.[267] [Sidenote: Breaking of engagements.] Constantine ordained,[268] in the year 336, that if an engagement was broken by the death of one of the contracting parties and if the _osculum_[269] had taken place, half of whatever donations had been given was to be handed over to the surviving party and half to the heirs of the deceased; but if the solemn _osculum_ had not yet taken place, all gifts went to the heirs of the deceased. There was also a law that if either party broke the engagement to enter monastic life, the man who did so lost all that he had given by way of earnest money for the marriage contract (_arrarum nomine_); if it was the woman who took the initiative, she was compelled to return twice the amount of any sums she had received. This was changed by Justinian, who enacted that those who broke an engagement to enter monastic life should merely return or receive whatever donations had been made.[270] Constantine and his successors abrogated the old time Julian laws, which had inflicted certain penalties--such as limited rights of inheritance--on men and women who did not marry.[271] [Sidenote: Changes in the law of gifts.]