In Paradise Lost Book II, Satan explains to Sin why he wants to leave Hell:
... through the void immense
To search with wand'ring quest a place foretold
Should be, and, by concurring signs, ere now
Created vast and round, a place of bliss
In the purlieus of Heav'n, and therein placed
A race of upstart creatures ...Milton, John. Paradise Lost. 1667, 2nd ed. 1674. The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton. Eds. William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, and Stephen M. Fallon. New York: Modern Library, 2007. pp. 251–634. Book II, ll. 829–834, p. 350.
Earlier, Satan has reminded his fellow rebels of the rumors they heard in Heaven before their fall, to the effect that the universe should be created and peopled:
Space may produce new worlds; whereof so rife
There went a fame in Heav'n that he ere long
Intended to create, and therein plant
A generation, whom his choice regard
Should favor equal to the sons of Heav'n.ibid., Book I, ll. 650–654, p. 317.
And Beëlzebub has suggested that the fallen angels can avenge their defeat by despoiling God's new creation, which he describes as follows:
There is a place
(If ancient and prophetic fame in Heav'n
Err not) another world, the happy seat
Of some new race called Man, about this time
To be created like to us, though less
in power and excellence, but favored more
Of him who rules above: so was his will
Pronounced among the gods, and by an oath,
That shook Heav'n's whole circumference, confirmed.ibid., Book II, ll. 345–353, p. 334
These earlier speeches indicate that the universe will soon come into existence: it is a place foretold / Should be. God's will and oath guarantee this. But the speeches also make clear that at the time the angels fell, the universe was in prospect and not already brought into being. Why then does Satan say that it is by concurring signs ere now / Created? What "concurring signs" has he observed that make the universe's existence not merely a prediction, but a fait accompli? How could Satan even have observed any such signs while locked up under the dome of Hell?
Perhaps Satan is merely lying to Sin? He needs her to open Hell's gates to let him out, so he promises that once he has found the newly created place, he will let her dwell there along with her lover Death. Perhaps saying that it is already in existence is his way of making the bargain more appealing to Sin? This possibility is mere speculation, however, and evidence would be needed to support it. No doubt there are other, likelier explanations as well. How have scholars and critics explained these "concurring signs"? What can be gleaned by analyzing this speech of Satan's, either in its specific context or in the context of the entire epic?