Epictetus was born a slave, walked with a crippled leg, owned almost nothing, and got exiled from Rome for teaching philosophy. He is the least quotable Stoic in one sense: he never wrote anything down. Everything below survives because a student called Arrian took notes.
That matters, because Epictetus does not read like literature. He reads like a coach mid-session. Blunt, repetitive, occasionally rude. Which is exactly why his lines work as a playbook: each one is an instruction, not an ornament.
A suggestion before you scroll. Do not read all of these. Pick one that stings a little, write it somewhere you will see it, and run it for a week. One line practised beats fifty admired.
Unless noted, the Enchiridion quotes below are Elizabeth Carter's translation and the Discourses quotes are George Long's. Both are public domain.
The foundation
"Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things."
(Enchiridion 5)
If you only ever learn one line of Epictetus, this is the one. The event and your judgement about the event are two different things, and only the second is yours. Everything else he taught is a footnote to this.
"Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one's desires, but by the removal of desire."
(Discourses IV.1)
"Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens."
(Discourses I.1)
That last line is the dichotomy of control in eleven words. I have written a full article on the dichotomy of control if you want the practical version, because it is easy to nod at and very hard to use under pressure.
On anger and being insulted
"Remember, that not he who gives ill language or a blow insults, but the principle which represents these things as insulting."
(Enchiridion 20)
"If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you, but answer: 'He does not know my other faults, else he would not have mentioned only these.'"
(Enchiridion 33)
"When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger."
(Attributed to Epictetus, Discourses I.18)
The Enchiridion 33 line is my favourite in the whole handbook. It is the only classical quote I know that disarms criticism with a joke at your own expense, and it works just as well in a comment section as it did in Nicopolis.
On desire and pleasure
"If you are struck by the appearance of any promised pleasure, guard yourself against being hurried away by it."
(Enchiridion 34)
"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."
(Commonly attributed to Epictetus; the exact source is disputed)
On adversity
"Difficulties are things that show a person what they are."
(Discourses I.24)
"With every accident, ask yourself what abilities you have for making a proper use of it."
(Enchiridion 10)
"The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it."
(Attributed to Epictetus, Discourses I.24)
Epictetus liked the image of the wrestling partner. The difficult thing in front of you is the rough young man you have been paired with at the gym. Nobody gets stronger wrestling air.
On loss and grief
"Never say of anything, 'I have lost it'; but, 'I have returned it.' Is your child dead? It is returned."
(Enchiridion 11)
"With regard to whatever objects give you delight, are useful, or are deeply loved, remember to tell yourself of what general nature they are, beginning from the most insignificant things. If, for example, you are fond of a specific ceramic cup, remind yourself that it is only ceramic cups in general of which you are fond."
(Enchiridion 3)
"What harm is it, when you are reviewing something in your mind, to say to yourself, 'This might be gone tomorrow'?"
(Discourses III.24)
These are the hardest lines in Stoicism, and I am not going to pretend Enchiridion 11 is easy to swallow. The child line shocks modern readers. It is meant to. Epictetus is forcing the logic of impermanence all the way to the end, because a principle you only apply to coffee cups is not a principle.
On death
"Let death and exile, and all other things which appear terrible be daily before your eyes, but chiefly death."
(Enchiridion 21)
"I must die. Must I then die lamenting?"
(Discourses I.1)
"Conduct me, Jove, and you, O Destiny, Wherever your decrees have fixed my station."
(Enchiridion 53, quoting Cleanthes)
"You are a little soul carrying around a corpse."
(Epictetus, preserved in the fragments and quoted by Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.41)
On other people
"Remember that you must behave in life as at a dinner party. Is anything brought around to you? Put out your hand and take your share with moderation."
(Enchiridion 15)
"When any person harms you, or speaks badly of you, remember that he acts or speaks from a supposition of its being his duty."
(Enchiridion 42)
"Keep silence for the most part, and speak only when you must, and then briefly."
(Enchiridion 33)
On integrity
"Don't you know that a good and excellent person does nothing for the sake of appearances."
(Discourses III.24)
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid."
(Enchiridion 13)
"Never call yourself a philosopher, nor talk much among the unlearned about theorems."
(Enchiridion 46)
Enchiridion 46 is the anti-guru clause, and the reason I am suspicious of anyone whose bio says "philosopher". Epictetus told his students that sheep do not vomit up grass to show the shepherd how much they have eaten. They digest it, and show it as wool and milk. Show the wool.
On getting better
"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do."
(Discourses III.23)
"Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things, and thence proceed to greater."
(Discourses I.18)
"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."
(Discourses II.17)
"No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time."
(Discourses I.15)
"Only the educated are free."
(Discourses II.1)
On purpose
"Remember that you are an actor in a drama, of such a kind as the author pleases to make it. If short, of a short one; if long, of a long one. For this is your business, to act well the character assigned you; to choose it is another's."
(Enchiridion 17)
"Don't demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well."
(Enchiridion 8)
Epictetus also had a sharp test for whether a goal is worth holding at all, which most quote collections skip entirely. I unpacked it in the three tests Epictetus would put your goals through. If your new year resolutions keep collapsing, it is usually because they fail his first test.
A note on fake Epictetus quotes
If you have seen "You have power over your mind, not outside events" or "Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants" pinned to a gym wall, be aware that neither can be traced to Epictetus. The internet has manufactured a small industry of pseudo-Stoic lines. Everything above is from the Carter or Long translations except where I have marked the attribution as disputed, and I would rather give you 25 real lines than 50 padded ones.
For the wider canon beyond Epictetus, start with the collection of Stoic quotes from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and the lesser-known Stoics.
And if you want to practise one of these lines rather than just read it, the 7-Day Stoic Challenge is a free place to start. One audio lesson and one exercise a day for a week. Epictetus would have approved of the format. He never let anyone leave with notes only.