In our world that is torn by conflicts and warfare, we understand that a professional soldier who is hired to fight, without regard for what is right or which nation employs him, is a mercenary. He may be of great skill in combat, but his reason for taking up arms is to be rewarded with money, not peace.
So it is odd to the common man who knows only this meaning that we ask every Candidate for our mysteries about mercenary motives.
The educated man understands that there are some men who are motivated purely by the desire for rank and fortune. These are mercenary motives. These are reasons to exclude a man from our Fraternity. Such men will not appreciate the lessons of Freemasonry.
For this reason we guard the West Gate.
The Master's Emblem Explained for Masons 