diff --git a/configure b/configure
index b2200be0..3ae26241 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -623,8 +623,8 @@ if [ -z "${EMACSETCDIR-}" ]; then
     EMACSETCDIR="\$(prefix)/share/emacs/site-lisp"
 fi
 
-printf "Checking if emacs is available... "
-if emacs --quick --batch > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+printf "Checking if emacs (>= 24) is available... "
+if emacs --quick --batch --eval '(if (< emacs-major-version 24) (kill-emacs 1))' > /dev/null 2>&1; then
     printf "Yes.\n"
     have_emacs=1
 else