diff --git a/include/begin_code.h b/include/begin_code.h
index 669c9d3b2..5ce228799 100644
--- a/include/begin_code.h
+++ b/include/begin_code.h
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@
 #   define DECLSPEC
 #  endif
 # else
-#  if defined(__GNUC__)
+#  if defined(__GNUC__) && __GNUC__ >= 4
 #   define DECLSPEC	__attribute__ ((visibility("default")))
 #  else
 #   define DECLSPEC