  After the justification of the maximum entropy principle for equilibrium
mechanical system from the principle of virtual work, i.e., the virtual work of
microscopic forces on the elements of a mechanical system vanishes in
thermodynamic equilibrium, we present in this paper an application of the same
principle to dynamical systems out of equilibrium. The aim of this work is to
justify a least action principle and the concurrent maximum path entropy
principle for nonequilibrium thermodynamic systems.
