So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.

The line juxtaposes elemental opposites—fire and snow—to suggest the world’s capacity for renewal after devastation. In Tolkien’s moral universe, catastrophe is rarely the final word: cleansing cold follows consuming flame, and even seemingly invincible forces (“dragons,” emblematic of greed, terror, and ancient power) are finite. The sentence carries a consolatory, almost proverbial cadence, implying that time and providence outlast violence and tyranny. It also reflects Tolkien’s recurring theme that evil, however overwhelming, is self-limiting and will pass, while endurance, patience, and the turning of seasons restore a measure of peace.