alleged-cause clause introduced by ὅτι

[Tugodum]

Dickey (p. 131) states: "To indicate alleged cause, one asserted by the subject of the sentence but not positively confirmed by the author, a causal clause can have an optative verb in secondary sequence."
Do I understand correctly that,
(1) to indicate alleged cause, one has to use an optative verb, and
(2) since an optative verb can be used only in secondary sequence, there is no way to indicate alleged cause by a clause introduced by ὅτι in primary sequence?

[Hylander]

1) The optative with ὅτι in secondary sequence makes it clear that the stated cause is an assertion by the subject of the sentence, not by the author of the sentence. This is like "supposedly" or "allegedly" in English or, I think, будто бы in Russian (correct me if I'm wrong). As Dickey notes, this is a form of indirect discourse. The indicative would be an assertion of cause by the author or simply neutral--not emphasizing that the cause is not necessarily endorsed by the author.

2) In primary sequence, you can use a parenthetical such as ως λεγει/ειπεν in a ὅτι clause to indicate a cause alleged by the subject of the sentence, not by the author, just as in English you can resort to similar parentheticals or "supposedly".

[Tugodum]

Thanks a lot! Dickey definitely could be clearer on this point. Yes, in Russian it is "будто бы," or "якобы-"--regardless of the tenses.