Yet Another Stab at Gaul

I find it amusing that Rutilius continues to voice his dissatisfaction with leaving Rome even as he nears the end of the poem.  Like a child throwing a bit of a tantrum it seems, he yet again stabs at Gaul when speaking of his desire to visit Protadius: "sit fortasse minus, si laudet Gallia civem; testis Roma sui praesulis esse potest."  Just in case we forgot how upset he was about leaving his beloved Rome and making his way to Gaul, he does not cease to remind us.  At this point, although he attempts to make connections with Ovid's Tristia, he to my mind falls a bit short of a truly heartbreaking separation and instead sounds more like an incessant whiner.  Perhaps I am being to tough on our friend Rutilius but I found myself rolling my eyes when reading the above, in the manner of "I get it, you hate that you have to leave Rome!" and I feel as though, had I been one of his sailing companions on this trip, he would have likely been "accidentally" left behind long before now. :)