Sejanus, the minister in the present reign, imitated with success, for some time, the hypocrisy of his master; and, had his ambitious temper, impatient of attaining its object, allowed him to wear the mask for a longer period, he might have gained the imperial diadem;
It was really Sejanus who ran the show during Tiberius' reign. He stayed in Rome while Tiberius was playing around with his <i>little fishes</i> in Capri. As Prefect to the Praetorian Guard (In my view - and I'm happy to be challenged here - the Praetorian Guard seemed to be the group who kept breathing life into the Imperial system) - he could control the whole show. Suetonius doesn't mention him as much as I thought he would, or should.
